Cloud-based virtual care provider Mytonomy and the Carilion Clinic opioid treatment center are partnering to create a series of video education and engagement tools to assist healthcare staff and clinicians dealing with opioid addiction.

WHAT HAPPENED

The aim of the modules is to help caregivers recognize patients who are addicted, enable a better understanding of the biology of addiction, and to connect patients to the correct care resources at the right time.

The videos are hosted on a HIPPA-compliant platform designed to be user friendly and offers integration with health systems’ electronic health records and mobile applications.

The two organizations plan to begin deployment of the virtual care toolset during the summer and fall of this year, with longer-term plans to offer it to health systems nationwide.

The microlearning videos also are designed to educate caregivers on how to support patients and families suffering from addiction through recovery.

“This gives us the opportunity to bring the latest technology to bear upon this complex problem for our patients, families and staff,” Nancy Howell Agee, president and CEO of Carilion Clinic, said in a statement. “Our strong hope is to build a successful, scalable solution that will help other healthcare providers across the country.”

WHY IT MATTERS

Opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record, with an estimated 40 percent of opioid overdose deaths involving a prescription opioid, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Using modern tools, such as microlearning, to engage those most in need is a new frontier in medicine,” Dr. Robert Trestman, chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Carilion, said in a statement. “This approach can serve as a force multiplier to reduce opioid dependence, addiction, and deaths across Virginia and the country.”

THE LARGER TREND

This is the second partnership expansion for Mytonomy in as many months – in May the company extended its collaboration with the Mayo Clinic based on breast oncology microlearning patient educational videos that address important patient questions and concerns that crop up during breast cancer treatment.

Through the partnership extension, Mytonomy’s educational video modules in oncology and orthopedics became generally available to all health systems and practices, starting with Mayo Clinic campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida.

Health systems have been advancing a variety of technology solutions to tackle the opioid crisis in the United States – in March, Partners HealthCare announced it had integrated the Massachusetts Prescription Awareness Tool directly into its electronic health record system.

MassPAT is an online tool that promotes safe prescribing and dispensing patterns by allowing prescribers and pharmacists to access their patient’s prescriptive history within the past year.

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.

Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com

Twitter: @dropdeaded209