Verizon’s virtual care platform BlueJeans Telehealth is integrating Apple Health data to help drive better patient interactions.

Features have been added to the purpose-built, Hipaa-ready platform to enhance virtual encounters with a more rounded view of the patient’s health. Building on the overall patient care experience, the Televisit Tile and integration with the Apple Health app empower patients to share specific categories of health data such as heart rate, sleep, falls and more with their provider during telehealth appointments for more informed conversations, while providing patients with control over which data they choose to share.

According to McKinsey & Co, as of July 2021, telehealth use has stabilised at levels 38 times higher than before the pandemic. The same study found that between 40 and 60 per cent of consumers express interest in a set of broader virtual health products, such as a digital front door or lower-cost virtual-first health plan.

Designed from the ground up working closely with healthcare providers, BlueJeans Telehealth promotes virtual encounters by simplifying the join and visit experience, extending the reach of services available and providing more flexibility for patients and healthcare providers.

By mapping the patient experience more closely to clinical team workflows, BlueJeans Telehealth helps replicate the experience of onsite care encounters and patient interactions, while also providing the flexibility of virtual-first care. The Televisit Tile compiles and displays encounter-specific information collected during the visit. It displays patient-entered symptom data and will support information and document sharing to ensure a seamless communication exchange with healthcare providers. Suitable for group sessions, the tile features a patient selector to ensure user data will only be viewable and secure between the patient and their healthcare provider.

With these purpose-built workflows meant to improve the patient’s telehealth experience from anywhere, BlueJeans Telehealth works across mobile and desktop devices and includes single-touch, download-free access to mitigate potential technology challenges.

For those joining from an iPhone, integration with the Apple Health app allows patients to share certain categories of their Health app data, including heart rate, ECG, sleep, step count, falls and mobility data, directly into the BlueJeans Telehealth app, so patients and healthcare providers can have more meaningful and tangible health-related conversations that can improve the overall outcome of the visit.

Health app users remain in control of which categories of Health app data they choose to share with their provider during each telehealth appointment, and shared data are encrypted in transit and at rest.

Using the BlueJeans iOS app, users will be able to select Apple Health app data from within the pre-visit patient landing experience or through the Televisit Tile during the visit. Once synced, the healthcare provider will be able to see and interact with the Apple Health app data patients have chosen to share from the Televisit Tile while in the Provider View. The healthcare provider can expand data to observe trend lines as well as screen share the data for use during the televisit.

“The future of virtual healthcare is dependent on connectivity and the ability to drive real-time insights and deliver care through connected health,” said Krish Ramakrishnan, chief innovator and strategist at BlueJeans. “By empowering patients to share this level of contextual information directly into the BlueJeans Telehealth visit, we are enabling patients and healthcare providers to have more meaningful conversations and successful virtual consultations that can lead to better patient outcomes.”