Meditech is collaborating with Google Cloud to offer its electronic health record through its public cloud platform, which it says will boost security, interoperability and scalability for its EHR customers.

By working with Google Cloud Platform, Meditech will be able to offer options aligned with its Meditech-as-a-Service subscription model, the company said on Tuesday, with faster and more cost-effective implementation of evolving EHR technology.

Public cloud also helps healthcare organizations with finite resources for cybersecurity to bolster their infosec preparedness and protect against ransomware attacks. And the Google Cloud collaboration also extends to application development. 

“Plans are underway to develop native cloud products as well as APIs to be used on these products,” says Meditech President and COO Michelle O’Connor. “So the innovations will be extended to our on-premises customers as well.”

On Thursday, the company announced that it will support Health Records on iPhone – enabling hospitals and practices to use the Apple Health app to connect their consumers to see medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose.

Patients at Meditech customers will soon have secure FHIR-enabled access to health information from participating institutions organized into one view, covering allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals, and will receive notifications when their data is updated.

The project will start with pilots at Sellersville, Pennsylvania-based Grand View Health; Greenfield, Indiana-based Hancock Regional Hospital; and  Doylestown, Pennsylvania-based Doylestown Hospital.

Meditech plans to make the functionality accessible across all its EHR platforms with version 6.0 of Expanse.

THE LARGER TREND
Meditech has been innovating its cloud offerings in numerous ways these past few years. In 2017, it launched the Meditech-as-a-Service program as a monthly subscription model aimed at small and critical access hospitals.

With the formal launch of the next-generation web-based Expanse platform in early 2018, the company touted it as the first "full-scale EHR designed specifically for the post-meaningful use era."

This year, Meditech lanched a partnership with Nuance to integrate its Dragon Medical Virtual Assistant voice technology into Expanse. It also announced the addition of a new opioid stewardship toolkit into the web-based EHR.

ON THE RECORD
"We’ve been retooling Meditech for the new healthcare paradigm, reshaping our company to meet the needs of today’s market and today’s customers," said Meditech CEO Howard Messing, in a statement. "This collaboration with Google Cloud and our commitment to the public cloud further expands the productivity and agility of our customers."

As for the new iPhone offering, he noted that "engaging patients, driving consumer satisfaction, and delivering patient-centric care are the utmost priorities at Meditech. With health information from Meditech now available via Health Records on iPhone, consumers are provided one convenient, comprehensive record, enabling them to take a more proactive role in managing their own wellness."