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58 INNOVATION Mayo, Kaiser make joint investment in virtual hospital-at-home model: 6 details By Jackie Drees T wo of the nation's biggest healthcare providers are betting on the future of healthcare delivered from outside the four walls of the hospital. Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente announced May 13 their joint strategic in- vestment in Medically Home Group, a Bos- ton-based tech services company that powers hospital-at-home programs. Six details: 1. Mayo and Kaiser are investing in Medical- ly Home to expand access to its virtual and in-person care model so that other health systems and providers can adopt it, the orga- nizations said in a May 13 news release. 2. Medically Home is a virtual and physical delivery model that includes a 24/7 med- ical command center staffed by clinicians as well as integrations with patients' EHRs and soware that supports communication, monitoring and safety system technologies in the home. 3. e collaboration lets Mayo and Kaiser better tailor care to meet patients' specific needs, Mayo Clinic CEO Gianrico Farrugia, MD, said in the news release. "Patients expect and deserve high-quality care and excellent outcomes in a convenient and comfortable setting, even when faced with complex medical challenges. Our part- nership with Kaiser Permanente and Medi- cally Home will create the next generation of patient-centric, compassionate healthcare that seamlessly integrates advanced technol- ogy with clinical expertise." 4. Both Mayo and Kaiser already use Medi- cally Home's care model. Mayo deployed its advanced care at home program in partner- ship with Medically Home last July and Au- gust at Mayo Clinic Florida and Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis. 5. Kaiser launched its hospital-at-home pro- gram with the tech services company last year in two regions: Northern California and Oregon. 6. Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica and Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health also use Medi- cally Home's at-home care model. n U of Texas: Blockchain tech could increase homeless population's access to healthcare By Jackie Drees U niversity of Texas Dell Medical School re- searchers are building blockchain technolo- gy to devise a better way for people experi- encing homelessness to have their identity verified and shared by healthcare providers, according to a May 10 Austin American-Statesman report. The research project aims to improve access to healthcare and social services resources for people experiencing homelessness in Austin, Texas. One- third of people entering the HHS system in Austin do not have a basic identity document, a previous Dell Medical School research study found. Using blockchain, the researchers are devising a way for the homeless population to have their iden- tity verified once by a provider and then shared throughout the entire HHS network. The tech would verify a person's identity every time they check into a medical or service provider so they wouldn't have to repeatedly show a photo ID. n Colorado physician creates, starts selling wearable vaccine card By Hannah Mitchell T ashof Bernton, MD, an internal and occupational medicine physician in Colorado, created a blue silicone bracelet called the ImmunaBand, which has a metal tag with a QR code on it. Scanning the QR code and then entering a PIN num- ber will open to show someone's vaccination status, according to NBC affiliate KXAN in a May 12 article. Four details: 1. When someone purchases an ImmunaBand, which retails for $19.99 and $24.99, they are sent an email requesting they up- load their vaccine card. Customers have the option to include their name and the brand of vaccine they received on the brace- let or just the QR code. 2. Each vaccine card is carefully inspected to ensure that it's not fraudulent, Dr. Bernton said. 3. The data is protected by a PIN and encrypted on a HIPAA-com- pliant server. Even if the band is stolen, Dr. Bernton said, thieves would not be able to access the QR code without a PIN. 4. The band allows users to carry around proof of vaccination without risking it getting damaged in a wallet. n