- WellConnector, a health tech startup, launches in Tallahassee
- WellConnector seeks to empower patients with their data and remove paper burden
Tallahassee is home to a fresh health tech startup on a mission to make new patient paperwork a thing of the past.
According to a news release, WellConnector will look to empower patients by allowing them to digitally share standard new patient information, such as past medical history, medications, allergies and family history.
In particular, WellConnector partners are creating “a precheck for patient health,” designing a digital platform that will allow patients to securely and easily share health history with providers, making new visits more efficient and ensuring accurate medical information is readily available to better inform healthcare decisions.
Partnets noted that the platform will greatly help a wide array of patients, including individuals with rare diseases or chronic conditions, parents coordinating first-time healthcare appointments, emergency medical providers on the clock, caregivers aiding the elderly, and many more.
“The app is focused on completely eliminating the paper intake process at doctors’ offices,” said Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet, CEO of Ruvos, the team developing the platform, and WellConnector partner/cofounder. “We want to reduce human error and improve accuracy and completeness of information.”
WellConnector says it aims to minimize the amount of time patients spend filling out forms, often physically challenging and reliant on memory alone for information like medications and family history.
WellConnector is the magnum opus of partner/cofounder Allison Aubuchon who said she grew frustrated with duplicative paperwork during a challenging year for her health.
“Everyone is going through something or will go through something healthwise,” said Aubuchon. “For me, getting to the bottom of my rheumatoid arthritis meant multiple specialists and frequent medical visits. Carpal tunnel during this time made filling out the same information during each new visit — then verbally confirming information I’d just struggled to write down — even more maddening. I looked around waiting rooms and imagined what this must be like for patients with other challenges.”
Allison and her husband Josh reached out to Ruvos, a health technology company whose mission is to deliver clever and efficient solutions to improve the health of communities, to discuss the app concept.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” added Aubuchon. “Knowing Ruvos worked in the healthcare space and was encouraging entrepreneurs through initiatives like Launch Tally, they seemed like the ideal people to ask. And they were onboard, saying information sharing was a priority for them, and this needed to be done right and done locally. WellConnector took off from there, and Ruvos’ experience, relationships and expertise in breaking down information silos have been invaluable.”
WellConnector will be supported by Ruvos, a Tallahassee-based cloud consulting partner in healthcare, that says it’s expertise in cybersecurity and health technology will ensure patients using the platform will remain in charge of their data.
“We aren’t trying to solve all of healthcare’s problems as we feel being hyper-focused on the intake process will make a huge difference,” said Gonzalez Loumiet. “This app is focused on the Tallahassee community, created by people in Tallahassee for people in Tallahassee. We can solve many other complex healthcare issues but we intentionally want to focus on the first step of a patient’s experience. Getting that right will improve their care.”
WellConnector will also give healthcare providers the ability to request data relevant to the visit, and patients will be able to authenticate requests and select from their well of personal information — from past procedures to allergies and insurance information — connecting it securely to the platform used by the provider’s office.
“Modernizing the patient intake process will enable physicians to have complete, accurate, and timely patient data, which will allow physicians to spend more time providing care to their patients, reduce manual data entry among clinical staff, and improve patient satisfaction,” said Indhira Bisono Jimenez, M.D., rheumatologist. “I am looking forward to the adoption of WellConnector throughout our community.”
WellConnector will begin a pilot in spring 2023 that will include working with local partners to test the app and gain insight into the nuances at different practices and clinics that need to be accounted for in the design. Developers will adjust for different settings and multiple contexts based on patient and provider experiences.
Leaders in the business community say they are excited for what WellConnector brings to Tallahassee, and are happy to welcome the startup to the town’s growing tech hub.
“WellConnector’s mission to improve healthcare locally and bring providers together to solve a problem collaboratively is an example of what we need and hope to see more of in our community,” said Sue Dick, president / CEO of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. “We applaud their innovativeness.”
WellConnector is scheduled to bring together members of the medical community during a launch event on Dec. 8. The event will highlight a prototype and discuss ways partners and practices can be involved in the pilot process.
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