eClinicalWorks: COVID-19 and Telehealth

eClinicalWorks has released it a Respiratory Illness Screening Smart Form, and has updated its telehealth features to make them more flexible. Details on both are below.

eClinicalWorks Respiratory Illness Screening Smart Form

New Smart Form

eCinicalWorks has developed a new Respiratory Illness Screening Smart Form that is applicable to COVID-19. This new smart form is available for no charge to all eCW members. See the eClinicalWorks COVID-19 Customer Notice.

To Install the Smart Form

The eCinicalWorks administrator for the practice will receive a message in the eCinicalWorks M Quick-Launch (Jellybean) that confirms the practice has been enabled to download the smart form. Once you have this message, you, or your IT support organization, can run the APU tool on your server to download the A-8141 patch. Health Centers who host eClinicalWorks with HealthEfficient may email ITSupport@HealthEfficient.org to request installation, and/or file a ticket with eCinicalWorks. Health Centers who are hosted by eClinicalWorks itself should expect to see the smart form automatically installed. (If you don't, then file a ticket with eCinicalWorks.)

Once the form has been downloaded, you will be able to see the Smart Form in the SF Drop down list in the exe or browser version. See screenshots.

Verify the users can see all of the available Smart Forms. If they are not visible, go to the EMR Menu in eClinicalWorks exe version and select Configure Categories. Select “Smart Forms” from the drop down menu and select all of the Smart Forms on the left side and then Select all providers and staff. Click the Apply button and then OK to save.

For questions on the use of this form once it is installed, please contact support@healthefficient.org.

Patient Portal Questionnaire

In addition to using this Smart Form while documenting the progress note, you can create a patient portal questionnaire using the structured data following the same process for any structured data. Creating the questionnaire and adding it to your patient portal will allow the patient to answer the questions prior to their visit, or tele-visit. The patient responses can be pulled into the progress note using the Healow "sticky note download" icon. The patient responses will have text appended to the end indicating it was from the patient. (See quick reference guide on how to create eCinicalWorks questionnaires and add to your portal.)

eClinicalWorks Telehealth Changes in Response to COVID-19

HealthEfficient prepared a Quick Start Guide for eClinicalWorks Televisits and billing Medicaid.

Since then, eClinicalWorks has made substantial recent changes to its “TeleVisits” module. Details are below.

eCW has launched a feature enabling the practice to send a text message to patient’s smart phone in which the patient receives a link to start the visit from the text message. There is no need for the patient to login to the patient portal. Patients can also receive the appointment link in their email and start the televisit directly from the email, without having to open it from the Healow app. To do this, the practice must capture the patient’s email and phone number so they can be web-enabled to use the email and text functionality. There is no cost to the practice to send the text message for the televisit during this crisis period.

eClinicalWorks also shared with HealthEfficient the detailed information below in response to several questions we had for them about needed and desired features our health centers have articulated to us.

HealthEfficient: Our health centers have a need for on-demand televisits without in-advance scheduling.

eCW responds: Telehealth is based on a scheduled appointment with the patient. If practice wants an on-demand televisit, the solution is h2h (hello 2 healow), which will allow providers to initiate a telehealth visit with patient without the need of a scheduled appointment. h2h will be available to all customers once they get the new patch – Version 11.40.23.15, which is currently in the process of deployment. (The process started last week.) Practices can reach out to their Strategic Account Manager (SAM) for more details and to inquire when their practice database can be upgraded.

HealthEfficient: Our Health Centers need the ability to engage patient in portal/televisit without an email address for the patient, as many of their patients do not use email.

eCW responds: At this point in time, the patient can only be web-enabled with an email address, as this is used to validate the patient account. Our development team is working on a solution where we can bypass the need for email addresses when web-enabling patients. This is in the works and we will inform everyone one this is available.

HealthEfficient: Our Health Centers have a need for non-licensed clinical staff (like nurse care managers) to hold televisits. eClinicalWorks only allows licensed providers to initiate such visits.

eCW responds: At this point of time, the Telehealth functionality is only limited to and accessible by licensed providers who have been enabled for Televisits. If practice wants ability for non-licensed providers to initiate televisits, the solution is h2h (hello 2 healow), which will allow any clinical staff (licensed or not) to initiate a telehealth visit with patient. h2h would be available to all customers once they get the new patch – Version 11.40.23.15 which is currently in the process of deployment, process started last week. Practices can reach out to their SAM for more details and to inquire when their practice database would be upgraded.

HealthEfficient: Our Health Centers have a need for third-parties like interpreters to be added in to the televisit call formally (that is, not via speakerphone or similar workardound.

eCW responds: At this point of time, eCW Telehealth solution (including hello2healow) does not support third-parties to be added on the call. The televisit is between the patient and provider, and that is what we limit it to.

HealthEfficient: Our Health Centers need for eClinicalWorks to support multiple languages in the patient portal and Healow app.

eCW responds: eCW Patient Portal is available in English and Spanish. Our development team is working on extending support to Spanish language on the Healow app. However, the patient does not need to login to the Patient Portal or the Healow app to initiate the Televisit. The patient can initiate televisit from the email reminder on laptop/desktop/smart phone/tablet, OR from the text message reminder they receive on a smart phone. There is no cost for email or text message reminder to patient – it is included in the cost of telehealth technology.

HealthEfficient: Our Health Centers have a desire for very low technology burden for patient or provider: patients receive a link, click on smartphone, start the session.

eClinicalWorks replies: There is no technology burden for provider, as the provider uses the same eCW application that they are used to using (either exe or browser; [some might prefer the] browser as it offers better user experience).

There is no technology burden for patient, as the patient can initiate televisit from the email reminder on laptop/desktop/smart phone/tablet, OR from the text message reminder they receive on a smart phone.