“DocbookMD provides a support network at your fingertips that is beneficial to physicians and their patients.”
• Prioritize outgoing text messages; • Confirm receipt of text messages; • Search a local pharmacy and physi- cian directory for up-to-date contact information; and
• Locate area doctors by name, special- ty, and by facility with which they’re affiliated.
Drs. Haas and Gueramy say the app’s
growth and popularity among the medi- cal community thrill them. DocbookMD has more than 8,000 Texas users and more than 15,000 users in 38 additional states. More than 300 county medical societies nationwide — including all Texas county medical societies — offer DocbookMD to their members. Since the app’s inception five years
Connection, I was able to share the re- sults of the magnetic resonance imag- ing [MRI] scan with a neurosurgeon, schedule an appointment for the patient, and have the patient seen in a 48-hour period. In the past, it could have taken up to a week for all that to occur. Doc- bookMD saves time and effort for busy physicians like me and makes patients happy,” he said. Another of Dr. Merryman’s patients
started treatment for lung cancer one day after diagnosis with the help of Doc- bookMD. Dr. Merryman forwarded the patient’s chest scan to an oncologist us- ing the ARA Connection function, which he says fosters efficient patient care and gives him added peace of mind. “I don’t have to worry about missing something. I can get the reports directly on my phone and not have to wonder whether scans have been done,” Dr. Mer- ryman said.
DocbookMD is a secure, HIPAA-com-
pliant, Texas Medical Association-en- dorsed communication app that allows physicians and their care teams to share real-time messages and images such as electrocardiograms and x-rays, resulting in more efficient care coordination. Phy- sicians can send text messages and imag- es to one another while meeting HIPAA encryption and security requirements.
44 TEXAS MEDICINE April 2014
The app is available free to TMA and county medical society members. A paid version of the app is also available for hospitals and large groups. The Texas Medical Liability Trust is a sponsor of DocbookMD, which is avail- able for iPhone and Android phones, as well as for iPad and iPod touch. A web version of the app is coming out this spring. For more information about Docbook- MD, visit the website, http://docbookmd .com. Download the DocbookMD mobile app via the TMA website, www.texmed .org/docbookmd. To obtain the necessary credentialing data to start using DocbookMD, call your county medical society, or contact the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880- 7955 or (512) 370-1550 or by email at
knowledge@texmed.org.
One big, “appy” family The Austin husband-and-wife team of Tim Gueramy, MD, and Tracey Haas, DO, developed the app and launched the flagship application in 2009. Dr. Haas, a family physician, says DocbookMD eliminates the need for unnecessary and often costly repeat office visits when an image of an x-ray or wound, for example, would suffice. The app allows physicians to:
ago, Dr. Haas says DocbookMD has been focused on enhancing the product and meeting users’ needs. Over time, for ex- ample, Texas physicians asked to be able to use the app to communicate with staff. DocbookMD responded by adding
the CareTeam function last May to allow individual doctors to “add members of their own staff, who can all see one an- other and send secure messages to one another,” Dr. Haas says. Since opening secure messaging to staff members, she says the volume of text message communications tripled from September to February. Nonphysi- cian CareTeam members have to be in- vited to join by physician users of Doc- bookMD and don’t have access to the full medical society directory. “Multiple doctors can share the same
CareTeam members, which answers a huge need in hospitals,” Dr. Gueramy said, adding that CareTeam sparked de- velopment of a new offering for hospi- tals and large groups known as Docbook Enterprise. At press time, eight hospitals and medical groups in Texas, plus two hospitals in other states, had contracted with DocbookMD to use Enterprise in their facilities among their physicians and staff members. Dr. Haas says the new feature will help hospitals and physician groups im- prove patient care, reduce HIPAA viola- tion risk, and prevent costly medical mis- takes. Docbook Enterprise has a secure, cloud-based platform that allows phy-
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