“PicassoMD has just changed the way I practice, and now having this app in my life, I don’t think I can practice any other way.”
When family nurse practitioner Erina Herron sees patients, she knows that if she has a question, there’s an entire panel of specialists that can help her. They’re in her pocket. Herron says now that she has used PicassoMD, she wouldn’t want to practice medicine without it.
PicassoMD is an app that instantly connects healthcare providers for clinical decision support, referrals, and care coordination. For example, when seeing a patient for a pre-op checkup, Herron noticed a potentially concerning finding on an EKG. In the past, she would have referred the patient to a cardiologist for further evaluation, likely delaying surgery.
Using PicassoMD, Herron was able to get in touch with a local cardiologist in a matter of seconds. She sent him a picture of the EKG. After reviewing it, he provided Herron with a better understanding of the clinical picture, allowing her to determine that the finding was a normal variant and therefore no further evaluation was needed. The entire interaction took place in under five minutes.
The cardiologist Herron connected with says that interaction is a perfect example of how helpful PicassoMD can be. “For the patient,” he says, “they’re going to their primary care office to clear a major hurdle for surgery, which is in itself anxiety provoking.”
Without PicassoMD, that patient would have left Herron’s office even more anxious. They would have had to find a cardiologist who could see them before their surgery, which would have been difficult given typical appointment lead times.
“The fact that when I have this app, I can pick up my phone and talk to any specialist I want and ask them any question has been so helpful—and as a new provider it has boosted my confidence.”
In addition to reducing avoidable referrals, PicassoMD is also beneficial when Herron sees a patient who would benefit from a visit with a specialist. “If I have to refer any patients,” says Herron, “I can just do it through the app.”
The capability of referring patients through the app allows for continuity of care that is often lacking when patients visit a specialist for the first time. Specialists and their staff are now alerted when a patient is referred to them and have an open channel of communication with the referring provider. The result is better coordination of care leading to better outcomes and more timely appointments for the patient.
Herron concludes many other benefits to using PicassoMD besides reduced anxiety for her pre-op patients. “It’s helped me and my patient’s health. It has saved my time and their time. It has saved so much money for them by me not doing unnecessary referrals. It’s been such a lifesaver,” says Herron. “I’m just surprised nobody thought about this app sooner.”
