Original Article by Rajiv Leventhal
Date: July 18, 2018
Two California health systems, Dignity Health and UCSF Health are collaborating to develop a digital
engagement platform that officials believe will provide information and access to patients when and where they need it as they navigate primary and preventive care, as well as more acute or specialty care.
The platform, which ultimately aims to serve as a model for health systems nationwide, will be hosted by Dignity Health. The two San Francisco-based healthcare organizations “will leverage technological expertise and cloudbased infrastructure that Dignity Health has developed for its 40 hospitals…UCSF Health will contribute its extensive knowledge of the patient experience in specialty care,” according to an announcement. The overall goal is to develop a trusted path of digital access across the patient journey using the proprietary cloud-based platform of Dignity Health. In the first phase of the digital collaboration, UCSF is aiming to redesigning the user experience of its web and mobile properties and leverage Dignity Health’s technical knowhow to re-envision how the medical center delivers information to patients. The personalized, mobileresponsive infrastructure is supported by analytics and machine learning, officials noted.
In later phases, UCSF’s Center for Digital Health Innovation and Dignity Health will map out the multiple pathways that patients follow in moving from primary and secondary care to more acute care services, to create a digital system that connects patients and providers, while providing patients with the information they need throughout the process.
Our collaboration with Dignity Health will empower patients and their families with digital healthcare and connectivity, while simplifying the provider experience,” Shelby Decosta, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for UCSF Health, added in a statement. “Together, with Dignity Health, we are opening new pathways for healthcare organizations to create a superior experience for their own patients and ultimately, for patients nationwide.”
Shez Partovi, M.D., chief digital officer of Dignity Health, added, “This collaboration between UCSF and Dignity Health will set a new national standard for how patients should be supported through their digital healthcare journeys with intensely positive and personal experiences.”
