Frequently Asked Questions

Bridge is a patient engagement solution that provides patients with online entry points to essential tools, enabling patients to manage a variety of aspects of their health records and enables them to seek care. Patient portals help stimulate and improve better physician-patient relationships and give patients more control regarding their overall healthcare experience. Bridge provides an opportunity for health organizations to increase patient engagement, promote loyalty, better manage costs, and increase workflow efficiencies.

Bridge is more than just a patient portal; it is, in fact, a comprehensive patient engagement solution.

Through the use of patient engagement software, Bridge clients can deploy client-branded web applications as well as mobile apps, available for iOS and Android.

Bridge is setting a new standard for digital patient engagement software companies by offering a single, mobile-ready solution for secure SMS/email/push notifications, self-scheduling, medical record access, patient-provider messaging, bill pay, patient check-in, and more.

Yes. Bridge has a robust admin panel that allows for the easy setup of SMS and email notifications. These can be used for a variety of features, including:

• Appointment Confirmations
• Appointment Reminders
• Health Summaries
• New Documents
• Rx Refill Status Change
• New Invoices
• New Lab Results
• New Message

To learn more about SMS and email notifications, please see: The Facts about HIPAA and Email/SMS Communication with Patients.

To learn more about sending appointment reminders securely, please see:How to Send Automated Patient Appointment Reminders Without Jeopardizing Patients’ Data Security.

Bridge supports payment plans. Nevertheless, a lot depends on the payment gateway that the client is using for payments.

Bridge supports patient broadcast messaging functions in the administration panel of the patient messaging software. Simply select which segment of patients requires a message by selecting from an extensive list of filters, then either export the list of patients to send the message in the email messaging software or send a message directly from Bridge. Bridge supports both patient SMS messaging software and email mass messaging.

Bridge empowers patients with self-service tools to better manage their care, increasing patient engagement, and patient loyalty. The Bridge platform enables health organizations to replace their existing EHR portals or connect disparate EHR environments, reducing costs and increasing workflow efficiencies.

Bridge is a 2015 certified patient portal; therefore, healthcare organizations can use Bridge to attest to Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Programs (Meaningful Use). Bridge also aids healthcare organizations in providing patients electronic access to their health information which is a requirement for MACRA/MIPS. Bridge can also aid healthcare organizations in ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule compliance. In order to be compliant, organizations must provide patients secure access to their electronic medical record data through an app of their choice.

Recommended: Patient Portals and MACRA / MIPS / Meaningful Use

Bridge currently interfaces with:

• AdvancedMD
• Allscripts
• athenahealth (Incl. athenaOne and the Centricity product line, formerly known as Virence / GE Centricity incl. Centricity Business, Centricity EMR, and Centricity Practice Solution (CPS))
• Aurora
• Brightree
• EMR-Link
• gMed
• Greenway
• Infomedika
• McKesson
• MedWorxs
• Mirth Connect
• NextGen
• PhoenixOrtho
• PrognoCIS
• Strateq Health
• Wellsky
• Wellsoft
• X-Link

Yes. Bridge has a robust admin panel that allows for the easy setup of notifications. Bridge offers IVR reminders and notifications, along with bidirectional patient messaging, push-based messaging, text messages and emails notifications/reminders.

Reminders can be used for a variety of features, including:

• Appointment Confirmations
• Patient Recall Messaging Software
• Automated Appointment Reminders
• Health Summaries
• New Documents
• Rx Refill Status Change
• New Invoices
• New Lab Results
• New Message

To learn more about SMS and Email notifications, please see: The Facts about HIPAA and Email/SMS Communication with Patients.

To learn more about sending appointment reminders securely, please see:How to Send Automated Patient Appointment Reminders Without Jeopardizing Patients’ Data Security.

Yes, patients have the ability to select multiple invoices (via a checkbox) and pay for all the selected invoices in one transaction.

Bridge has a few preferred payment gateways, but clients have the ability to choose the merchant/gateway of their choice. Bridge can aid in the vendor selection process if needed. Bridge has partnerships with merchants to support the use of contactless payment terminals for collecting in-office payments.

Currently, chatbots are not supported. Bridge plans to include a chatbot for its virtual visit module.

Bridge is different than anything else on the market in the following ways:

• Provides a client-branded healthcare mobile app
• Adopts the latest technologies, such as Angular, which allows for a single codebase for web, iOS, and Android.
• Capacity to successfully interface with 15+ EHR/RCM solutions and counting.
• Focuses on medium-to-large-sized healthcare businesses.
• Advanced expertise in the healthcare regulatory landscape (i.e., HIPAA and ADA).
• Expert knowledge in healthcare interface technology (i.e., HL7, FHIR, CCD, Direct).
• In-depth knowledge of the age of majority law, acceptable management of proxy accounts, conditional presentation of sensitive information, and the complexities associated with
  parent/guardian/caregiver access.
• Boasts the highest functionality of any platform

Bridge is an enterprise patient portal and patient engagement solution for healthcare organizations. The platform is ideal for companies seeking to replace their existing EHR patient portal, connect disparate EHR environments, consolidate costly patient engagement tools, offer telemedicine services, and or publish a mobile app. Bridge truly engages patients with a superior, client-branded user experience that includes automated electronic communication and meaningful, multi-platform access to health, financial, and appointment information. Bridge’s all-in-one patient engagement solution is proven to enhance patient-physician collaboration, care outcomes, business profitability, and brand equity.

Bridge is an EHR-agnostic / vendor-neutral solution that can interface with multiple EHR and RCM systems simultaneously.

Recommended: Patient Portals and MACRA / MIPS / Meaningful Use

Recommended:Bridge Reports Record Growth for 2019

Yes. Clients can utilize three different methods for sending personalized patient education material.

Direct message: Send patients education via direct message (attachments, URL’s, text)
Mass messaging: Utilize the marketing module to target patients with a specific condition and send the target patient population the education material in one click.
Care plans: Automated triggering of patient education as the patient adheres to the assigned care plan.

Read: New Version 1.1 of Universe mHealth App Platform Released with Family/Proxy Accounts

Yes, Bridge has the ability to integrate with a lab directly via an HL7 interface.

Recommended: Bridge Creates a Lab Results Patient Portal for Addiction Labs for COVID-19 Testing

This is a configuration on the Bridge side. The most common trigger for sending a lab doc is the physician’s signature in the EHR.

Yes, Bridge has the ability to add an interface layer to restrict certain data.

Bridge will typically pull the lab results from the EHR as a CCDA HL7 file. Bridge can also support integrations directly with labs or with products such as EMR-Link.

Recommended: Bridge Creates a Lab Results Patient Portal for Addiction Labs for COVID-19 Testing

Bridge has the ability to filter/restrict data at the interface layer.

Bridge is a patient portal supplier and pricing based on a combination of factors including number of providers and active patients. This ensures that clients are not billed unnecessarily for under-utilized systems. A provider is considered to be any high-level provider providing care to a patient. This includes MD, DO, DC, N.P., L.Ac., DDS, and DMD. A portion of Bridge’s pricing is based on the number of providers that are going to be using Bridge. Bridge generally does not provide a discount for part-time providers as the majority of the license costs are based on patient utilization. However, exceptions can be made for certain cases. Supporting staff and other administrative staff is not required to purchase a license, as long as there is one active provider license.

Yes, a task can be assigned to multiple users. There is an area for users to leave notes as well.

A task can be created for any number of patient interactions.

Examples include:

• The patient completed a form that needs to be reviewed before flowing back into the source system as discrete data.
• A patient with a technical question regarding the portal could be triaged in the portal and not the EHR.
• RCM related issues
• Appointment requests

The tasking center is a module that lives on the patient portal solution’s admin side, available to certain staff user roles.

Yes. The referral request can take place via the messaging module. Bridge would dedicate a message type for these inquiries.

Bridge does not have its own HISP for direct messaging. If direct messaging was required in a client instance, we would rely on third-party vendors to satisfy the requirement.

This is not currently supported in Bridge. To meet the requirements, Bridge integrates with third-party vendors to provide a solution.

Recommended:The Benefits of a MIPS Portal or MACRA Patient Portal for MIPS / MACRA attestation

Yes, Bridge can export form data as a CSV file. We also support integration into Zoho Analytics®, creating any number of custom reports and data gathering required by the client.

Recommended: Utilizing HIPAA Compliant Patient Surveys to Optimize Patient Engagement and Increase Effectiveness of Post Visit Communication

Yes, Bridge clients can determine the content of the post-visit message.

Recommended: Utilizing HIPAA Compliant Patient Surveys to Optimize Patient Engagement and Increase Effectiveness of Post Visit Communication

Yes, Bridge supports the ability to send patient satisfaction surveys as a post-visit message. The sending of surveys is configurable by appointment type.

Recommended:Utilizing HIPAA Compliant Patient Surveys to Optimize Patient Engagement and Increase Effectiveness of Post Visit Communication

Bridge currently supports integration with FitBit. Bridge is also capable of integrating with any number of devices and interface engines, such as Validic®.

Yes, Bridge can ingest patient-generated data from remote monitoring devices. The data flows into Bridge’s “Wellness Tracker” module. Patients can track vitals such as weight, height, blood pressure, blood glucose, temperature, and more.

Recommended: Research Finds Significant Patient Portal Benefits For Remote Patient Monitoring

Yes, the information can flow back as discrete data, PDF, or a combination of the two.

Yes, the information can flow back as discrete data, PDF, or a combination of the two.

Bridge’s notification engine can alert patients to complete a self-assessment via patient messaging software, which includes email, SMS/text, and push notifications. There would need to be a trigger that prompts the self-assessment such as an upcoming appointment of a certain appointment type, or a post-visit message.

This is a configuration in the Bridge platform. More often than not, clients choose a configuration that only allows patients to request refills on active medication.

Yes, client’s have the ability to list their pharmacies first in the dropdown list. Alternatively, the solution could auto populate the patients preferred pharmacy as defined by the source system.

A refill request goes back into the source system via a message. However, other workflows could be supported, such as routing the refill request to a tasking queue in the EHR or in Bridge’s tasking module.

Bridge is able to configure a client’s instance to support the age of majority regulations for their state/states.

Yes, Bridge supports proxy patient portal access. Parents can manage an account for their children, provided that their children are under the age of 18 or the age of majority in their state. Modeled after recognizable social media applications, parents can intuitively toggle between the profiles of their children. This feature clearly displays which child’s information the parent may be viewing, allowing the parent to manage his/her child’s appointments, prescription requests, and online medical records with ease. Bridge also has a built-in age of majority software that automatically disconnects a child for a parent’s account when the child reaches the age of majority. Parents can send messages on behalf of their child, and restrictions for sensitive information are supported.

To learn more about Pediatric specific portal features, please see: 3 Portal Features Every Pediatric Clinic, and Parent Should Know

Bridge offers IVR reminders and notifications, along with bidirectional patient messaging, SMS, Email, and Push-based notifications/reminders. The IVR-based calls also support user-inputted responses (i.e., “Press 1 to confirm, or 2 to cancel your upcoming appointment”)

Bridge has a robust admin panel that allows for the easy set up of IVR reminders and notifications, along with bidirectional patient messaging, SMS, Email, and Push-based notifications/reminders. The IVR-based calls also support user-inputted responses (i.e., “Press 1 to confirm, or 2 to cancel your upcoming appointment”). Patients can use a direct messaging protocol granted the provider has a direct message address.

Bridge supports patient mass messaging functions in the administration panel. Simply select the criteria of patients that you want to send a message to by selecting from an extensive list of filters, then either export the list of patients to send the message in your email messaging software or send a message directly from Bridge. Bridge supports both SMS and email mass messaging.

Messaging can be used to communicate:

• Appointment Confirmations
• Patient Recall Messaging Software
• HIPAA compliant appointment reminders
• Health Summaries
• New Documents
• Rx Refill Status Change
• New Invoices
• New Lab Results
• New Message

*Reminder, it is a HIPAA violation to include names or PHI in an email or SMS text. That being said, depending on the content of the email/SMS, who the email/SMS is being sent to, or mechanisms put in place to ensure the integrity of Protected Health Information (PHI), email/SMS can comply with HIPAA in certain circumstances. The patient also can sign an opt-in agreement (where they accept the risks of PHI in messages) with a health organization and receive PHI via email/SMS. The opt-in agreement is a common practice among Bridge clients.

Bridge supports patient mass messaging functions in the administration panel of the patient messaging software. Simply select the criteria of patients that you want to send a message to by selecting from an extensive list of filters, then either export the list of patients to send the message in your email messaging software or send a message directly from Bridge. Bridge supports both patient SMS messaging software and email mass messaging.

Bridge enables healthcare organizations to have a repository of forms and agreements for patients to sign “e-sign” in the application electronically. These forms/agreements can be triggered at various stages of the patient’s use of the portal, including:

• At the initial patient portal self-registration
• Schedule patient appointments
• Via a HIPAA compliant appointment reminder
• Within the patient check-in software

Bridge has the ability to restrict patient functionality based on a number of factors. For instance, if the source were to change the patient status to fired or in collections, Bridge could block or limit access.

Yes, assuming the RCM/PM system supports interfaces for receiving such information or supports the uploading of batch files for patient payments.

Yes, Bridge works with a real-time EDI service for insurance eligibility and service estimations. This is typically checked during the patient intake/web-check-in process.

Bridge’s notification engine can alert patients of a new invoice via email, SMS/text, and via mobile PUSH notification.

Yes. Bridge can be hosted on a healthcare organization’s server or on one of Bridge’s, depending on the healthcare organization’s preference. Other options for hosting include:

Client Server: This option allows a healthcare organization to host the Bridge software on their own server or on a dedicated joint-managed Bridge server. Bridge requires access to this server for product update services, and the server must meet the company’s technical requirements. Server technical maintenance incurs an additional cost.

Dedicated Bridge Server: A healthcare organization can be hosted on a dedicated server but does not have the resources to maintain one, Bridge can provide joint-managed dedicated hosting with Google Cloud Platform.

For additional information about self-hosted environments, please contact a Bridge representative.

ONC

Bridge meets 16 different 2015 Edition ONC Health IT Certification Criteria. This certification allows healthcare organizations to leverage Bridge in order to be Meaningful Use, MACRA/MIPS, and ONC Cures Act compliant.

Recommended reading:Patient Portals and MACRA / MIPS / Meaningful Use

HIPAA

Bridge is a HIPAA-compliant advanced IT solution and adheres to HIPAA regulations by taking the necessary steps to ensure products effectively protect sensitive patient information. Bridge has passed multiple rounds of third-party HIPAA audits. As a customer, companies will also sign a business associate agreement with Bridge for HIPAA compliance purposes. Bridge HIPAA compliant features include HIPAA compliant messaging, bill pay, appointment scheduling, appointment reminders, and more.

Bridge is committed to the security, compliance, and QA of each individual portal installation. Each portal is hosted on a secure Google cloud server with the appropriate firewalls. Bridge undergoes annual third-party HIPAA audits and various other security-related audits. Bridge also staffs a full-time compliance officer.

Bridge has a number of user roles that can be configured to have different access to health data.

Yes, clients have the ability to list their pharmacies first in the dropdown list. Alternatively, the solution could auto-populate the patient’s preferred pharmacy as defined by the source system.

Fees are charged on the first of the month for the upcoming month. If a patient or provider count is being used to calculate the monthly cost, this will be calculated based on the highest number of registered patients and/or providers in the previous month.

Learn how Bridge’s full patient engagement suite is priced here.

Bridge has an add-on tasking module for the management of common patient questions, issues, and tasks that require staff-approval/intervention. The tasking center is a module that lives on the admin side of the portal, available to certain staff users roles.

Bridge has a device-neutral patient intake software that seamlessly integrates with EHR/PMS systems to expedite the patient check-in process. Patients complete a customized patient intake

Experience that the client has developed with Bridge.

Bridge features several pre-built intake forms that can be further customized to the healthcare organization’s exact needs. There is a small charge for creating a custom patient intake form. The work is billed hourly, and most forms don’t require more than a few hours. Other forms can also be created, including Health Risk Assessments (HRA), surveys, pre-op forms, and medical record release.

Bridge has the ability to automate recall messaging based on data from past or upcoming appointments. Depending on the past appointment type, a logic is placed into our recall engine that lets Bridge know when to send the future message/messages. Triggers can also be received directly from the EHR and then custom messages sent to the patient from Bridge.

Bridge does not have its own HISP for direct messaging. If direct messaging was required in a client instance we would rely on third-party vendors to satisfy the requirement.

Bridge offers IVR reminders and notifications, along with bidirectional patient messaging, SMS, Email, and Push-based notifications/reminders. The IVR-based calls also support user-inputted responses (i.e., “Press 1 to confirm, or 2 to cancel your upcoming appointment”)

Bridge supports patient mass messaging functions in the administration panel of the patient messaging software. Simply select the criteria of patients that you want to send a message to by selecting from an extensive list of filters, then either export the list of patients to send the message in your email messaging software or send a message directly from Bridge. Bridge supports both patient SMS messaging software and email mass messaging.

Yes, granted the provider has a direct message address.

The Chronic Care Management solution has a built in timer. Every time a care coach accesses a patient chart, reviews the patient health records, updates or modifies the patient’s care plan, or communicates with the patient via phone or email the time spent in each activity is automatically recorded. At the end of the month, you can run a billing report for each provider that details the amount of time spent on Chronic Care Management service.

Yes, there is a form builder in the Chronic Care Management solution that enables administrators to develop custom forms to be used in their CCM program.

Yes, Bridge’s web browser-based application is mobile-friendly by using responsive design. This ensures a user-friendly experience on all devices.

Bridge also offers a client-branded healthcare mobile app solution with extensive functionality for interfaces, patient medical records, appointment scheduling, messaging, bill pay and more. To learn more about Bridge’s mobile app solution please visit: Universe mHealth

Yes. Bridge Patient Portal has gone through multiple rounds of third-party HIPAA audits and is ONC 2015 Edition certified. With the ONC 2015 certification, Bridge’s portal meets or exceeds all security requirements pertaining to patient portal software, as set forth in the standards for MACRA/MIPS and HIPAA. Protecting the privacy of your patients’ personal health information is a top priority for Bridge. As a Bridge customer you will also sign a Business Associate agreement with Bridge for HIPAA compliance purposes.

HIPAA compliant features include:

• HIPAA compliant bill pay
• HIPAA compliant appointment scheduling
• HIPAA compliant messaging
• HIPAA compliant appointment reminders

To learn more about security please see: 8 Security Features You Need in an EHR or Patient Portal

Healthcare providers in the US must comply with HIPAA regulations, which were designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information supplied to health plans, doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare entities. These regulations extend to all types of healthcare technologies that doctors might use to store and manage patient information. Although there is no definitive HIPAA certification for any organization, IT companies can be HIPAA-compliant. This means that they adhere to HIPAA regulations and take the necessary steps to ensure their products effectively protect sensitive patient information.

Bridge has a long history in helping healthcare organizations meet and understand HIPAA guidelines as they are developers of a HIPAA compliant patient portal.

To learn more about HIPAA and healthcare applications, please see:

HIPAA and Healthcare Applications, Part 1 of 3: What You Need to Know About User Authentication

HIPAA and Healthcare Applications, Part 2 of 3: What You Need to Know About Auditing

HIPAA and Healthcare Applications, Part 3 of 3:What You Need to Know About Data Transfer

Yes. Bridge’s enterprise patient portal can be interfaced with any Electronic Health Record (EHR), Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) or Practice Management (PM) software system, even more than one simultaneously.

Bridge works with the most common healthcare interface industry standards, including Health Level Seven (HL7), Continuity of Care Document (CCD) and Fast Health Information Resource (FHIR) via Bridge’s robust API. We can also build custom, non-standard interfaces designed for advanced integration between multiple systems where external compatibility support is not required.

No matter what your interface needs may be, Bridge can help you develop the perfect solution. In many cases, Bridge has already developed interfaces for your software system(s). Contact a Bridge representative to see if Bridge has an interface developed for your EHR or PM system.

To learn more about the Health Level Seven and Continuity of Care Documents please see: Understanding the Acronym Puzzle: What Health Professionals Need to Know About C-CDAs, CDAs, and CCDs

Yes. Please feel free to ask us about any feature that you would like to have installed. There is a good chance the patient portal development team is already developing it or has it scheduled for development.

Bridge can be hosted on your own server or on one of Bridge’s, depending on your healthcare organization’s preference. If you wish to not host on Bridge’s cloud server you have these additional options:

Client self-hosted: This option allows you to host the Bridge software on your own server or on a dedicated joint-managed Bridge server. Bridge Patient Portal requires access to this server for product update services and the server must meet the company’s technical requirements. Server technical maintenance has an additional cost.

Dedicated Bridge Server: If you’d like your organization to be on a dedicated server but do not have the resources to maintain one, Bridge Patient Portal can provide joint-managed dedicated hosting with Google Cloud.

Bridge Patient Portal is committed to the security, compliance and QA of each individual portal installation. Each portal is hosted on a secure Google cloud server with the appropriate firewalls. Bridge undergoes annual third-party HIPAA audits and various other security-related audits, Bridge also staffs a full-time compliance officer.

Offer patients a HIPAA compliant patient portal with Bridge.

Training hours are included in all purchases of Bridge Patient Portal. Bridge’s training sessions are typically carried out online via GoToMeeting.

Many of Bridge’s clients opt for a “train the trainer” approach, rather than having every member of their organization meet with a trainer from Bridge. If you choose this option, we will train an individual or a select group of people at your organization to use the portal. They can then, in turn, teach the rest of your healthcare staff.

In addition to online training, Bridge can provide clients with a product manual and how-to videos that explain some of the different functions and capabilities of the patient portal. Bridge will work with your team to develop these training materials and overall training plan.

Bridge will provide ongoing support to all clients. Support shall include telephone or email assistance in remedying situations and problems with the operation and performance of the Patient Portal. This support is available during Bridge’s normal business hours, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

Unless otherwise specified, Bridge will be responsible for providing Level 2 support only. Level 2 support is defined as support relating to the software or server, where advanced technical, development and server administration knowledge is required. This includes, but is not limited to troubleshooting of software bugs, server administration and database administration. Level 1 support, defined as support provided directly to patients (ie. login issues, missing information from medical record, etc.) is generally the responsibility of the client, though arrangements can be made to where Bridge can handle these support responsibilities.

Bridge is uniquely positioned to deliver an exceptional patient portal/patient engagement platform. After 7+ years of intense development, Bridge now finds itself in a unique position to capitalize on other vendors’ shortcomings and growing customer demand for patient engagement solutions.

What sets Bridge apart from our competitors:

• Utilization of the latest technologies, such as Angular, which allow for a single code base for web, iOS and Android.
• Ability to navigate interface challenges with EHR/RCM vendors, having successfully interfaced with 15+ EHR/RCM solutions.
• Experience completing many projects, so we enter a project with confidence and are comfortable setting budget limits, preventing budget overrun.
• Sole focus on medium-to-large-sized healthcare businesses.
• Advanced expertise in the healthcare regulatory landscape (ie. HIPAA, ADA). Bridge has undergone an Optum new vendor audit, for example.
• Experts in healthcare interface technology (ie. HL7, FHIR, CCD, Direct).
• Extensive experience in providing patient portals and apps, with deep knowledge of age of majority law, acceptable management of proxy accounts, conditional presentation of sensitive information and the complexities associated with parent/guardian/caregiver access.

As the healthcare industry grows in complexity, it’s important to have a partner to optimize communication and interoperability between systems. Through high R&D spending (50% of expenses) Bridge has been able thrive in the ever-changing, disorganized healthcare market where vendors are struggling to keep up with customer needs and have significantly higher operating costs, high customer acquisition costs, and obsolete software platforms.

Yes. In partnership with Medical Web Experts(www.medicalwebexperts.com), Bridge offers a wide range of healthcare website design and healthcare marketing services, ensuring maximum engagement across the patient population. Their services are complementary to those offered by Bridge, helping Bridge customers build microservices-based on Bridge’s API technology.

Medical Web Experts have over fifteen years of experience in medical web design and app development for the healthcare industry, working with some of healthcare’s largest health systems.

While Skype’s® encryption methods are strong, one of the most compelling reasons against the use of Skype® for healthcare provider-patient communication is that Skype® will not enter into a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is required under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule. Organizations that use the software to communicate with patients over the Internet should be aware of the risks involved and consider using other video conferencing platforms instead.

For more information please see: Is Skype HIPAA Compliant?

The short answer is yes. That being said depending on the content of the email/sms, who the email/sms is being sent to, or mechanisms put in place to ensure the integrity of Protected Health Information (PHI), email/sms can be in compliance with HIPAA in certain circumstances. The patient also has the ability to sign an opt-in agreement (where they accept the risks of PHI in messages) with a health organization and receive PHI via email/sms. The opt-in agreement is a common practice among Bridge clients.

For more information please see: The Facts about HIPAA and Email/SMS Communication with Patients

Though this is contract-specific, Bridge typically requires a 12-month commitment. Implementations that do not require any significant level of integration customization may see different, often shorter, term lengths.

Bridge controls the source code and does not allow clients to have access to it. However, if requested and at an additional cost, a client can be a beneficiary of the source code through Bridge’s source code escrow program. This protects the code in the event of an unforeseen disaster or modification that would render Bridge incapable of continuing to support and maintain the software application.

Yes. In partnership with our strategic partner Medical Web Experts, Bridge offers a wide range of healthcare website design services, ensuring maximum engagement across your patient population.

Medical Web Experts has over 10 years of experience specializing in medical web design and app development for the healthcare industry, working with some of healthcare’s largest health systems. For more information visit their website: Medical Web Experts

Yes. Bridge offers a white-labeled version of our patient portal for organizations looking to displace their native EHR patient portal. The 2015 certified ONC patient portal is built using Angular.

For our EHR partner resellers we offer competitive wholesale pricing, as well as access to our fully documented API. HL7 interfaces are also supported with Bridge.

Bridge’s patient engagement software platform was designed to help organizations with multiple patient engagement solutions. Our platform condenses the solution suite down to one single patient facing solution. From the single solution, organizations can expect the same functionality as the following solutions:

• medical scheduling software
• patient appointment reminder software
• patient care plan software
• patient web check-in software
• patient online payments software
• online patient forms software
• chronic care management software
• medication adherence software
• patient survey software

Parents can have an account for each of their individual children. Modeled after recognizable social media applications, parents can intuitively toggle between the profiles of their children. This feature clearly displays which child’s information the parent may be viewing, allowing the parent to manage his/her child’s appointments, prescription requests, and view medical records online with ease. Bridge also has built in age of majority software that automatically disconnects a child for parents account when the child reaches the age of majority.

The best way to become familiar with Bridge and experience its benefits is through an interactive demonstration with a Bridge specialist. This demo is customized to the client’s needs and showcases the product’s robust features and capabilities.

In some cases, Bridge can provide a demo login to a test environment for a client to interact with the product further.

Yes, parents can manage an account for each of their children, provided that all of their children are under the age of 18 or the age of majority in their state. Modeled after recognizable social media applications, parents can intuitively toggle between the profiles of their children. This feature clearly displays which child’s information the parent may be viewing, allowing the parent to manage his/her child’s appointments, prescription requests, and online medical record with ease. Bridge also has built in age of majority software that automatically disconnects a child for a parents account when the child reaches the age of majority. Parents can send messages on behalf of their child and restrictions for sensitive information are supported.

Yes. Bridge’s medical appointment scheduling software is a rules-based, enterprise-wide scheduling solution that ensures a patient can work their way through proper clinical screening and select from conflict-free times.

Bridge helps you automate the appointment scheduling process by letting patients book appointments at their own convenience. The appointment request platform is simple for patients to use, and lets them select their doctor and preferred visit time from a list of available appointment slots. Our self-scheduling allows you to implement an automated workflow that asks the questions you need answered before confirming an appointment, including prompting patients to fill out forms.

Choose between two setup configurations that determine what happens once a patient appointment request is received.

• Automated. Appointment requests are automatically scheduled once the patient clicks “submit request.”
• Semi-automated. Designate a person (or group of users) in your organization to receive appointment request notifications as soon as they are submitted. Users can review the appointment requests when it is convenient and change the status from “pending” to “scheduled” to confirm. A notification will then be sent to the patient.

Bridge’s rules-based HIPAA compliant scheduling solution ensures that a patient can work their way through proper clinical screening and select from conflict-free times within the patient scheduler. The patient scheduling software was built to easily handle complex scheduling decision trees and is adaptable to any provider group—forming to the unique schedules of each of their providers.

Yes. Bridge’s device-neutral patient intake software seamlessly integrates with EHR/PMS systems to expedite the patient check-in process. Patients interact with a customized patient intake experience that the client has developed with Bridge.

Yes. Bridge features a number of pre-built intake forms that can be further customized to your exact needs. There is a small charge for creating a custom patient intake forms. The work is billed hourly and most forms don’t require more than a few hours. Other forms can also be created, including Health Risk Assessments (HRA), surveys, pre-op forms and medical record release.

For more information on intake forms please see: Why Does Your Medical Practice Need Electronic Patient Intake Forms?

Yes. Bridge is a fully customizable patient portal solution. If a customized feature is required, Bridge assesses whether it is feasible and if there is an associated cost. In some cases, Bridge will not charge for customizations if Bridge feels that it would be beneficial for all Bridge users.

Custom patient portal features:

• Changes to intake form templates
• EHR/PM software interfaces
• Custom Patient Appointment Self Scheduling Workflows
• Filtering/hiding sensitive health summary and lab data
• Payment Gateway Integrations for Patient Bill Pay
• Custom homepage widgets
• API-driven microservices for client websites
• In-portal advertising
• Custom one-stop new patient registration and appointment scheduling forms

All of Bridge’s installations are designed to conform to the healthcare organization’s brand identity. Healthcare organizations can also choose to reserve requested portal customization for the organization’s use only. This is a common request in cases where the customization is part of a client’s “secret sauce.”

Yes. Bridge is a 2015 certified patient portal. Bridge was certified by SLI Compliance for 2015 Edition Module EHR / Ambulatory * ONC Health IT Certification. This designates that healthcare providers/organizations can use the patient portal for Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) pathway of the MACRA Quality Payment Program.

Bridge certified on the highest number of criteria (16 modular EHR criteria) of any EHR-independent 3rd party patient portal solution.

Bridge Patient Portal v2.0, certification date: Jul 3, 2018, certification ID number: 15.05.05.1947.BRID.01.00.0.180703

Yes. Especially in regard to the Promoting Interoperability (formerly Advancing Care Information) performance category in MIPS. The Promoting Interoperability category is worth 25% of a clinician’s MIPS Final Score. The score is derived on the satisfaction of base score, performance score and bonus score requirements, all of which are weighted differently in terms of their contribution to the Promoting Interoperability performance category final score. “Patient Electronic Access” is a MIPS measure that is a required for the base score and can be achieved through the use of a healthcare patient portal such as Bridge. There is also the View, Download and Transmit (VDT) measure that most will recognize as a key factor in having a patient portal for MU.

While Bridge does not offer IVR services as part of its core offering, Bridge is open to providing the solution if requested.

Yes. Patient surveys can be triggered/sent through the following modules:

• Mass marketing messaging
• Direct messaging
• Patient Forms
• Pre/Post visit messaging
• Care Plans

Yes. Bridge can interface with any Electronic Health Record (EHR), Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), or Practice Management (PM) software system, even more than one simultaneously. Information can be pulled from the provider portal into the source system and vice versa.

WhatsApp® is NOT a HIPAA compliant telemedicine software and should not be used to share ePHI or deliver online healthcare since doing so would violate HIPAA regulations.

Further recommended reading: Is WhatsApp® a HIPAA compliant telemedicine software?

Yes, Bridge can support several HL7 and API-based interfaces at once to EHR, PM, RCM, LIS, RIS, and other patient/clinical information systems

Bridge Essential includes the following features:

• Client-Branded
• Appointment Requests
• Self Portal Registration
• Two Factor Authentication
• Patient Forms
• Appointment Reminders
• Broadcast & Mass Patient Messaging
• Proxy/Family/Caregiver Accounts
• Zoom® Video Visit Integration
• Healthwise® Patient Education Integration
• Secure Patient Messaging
• Patient Surveys
• Rx Refill Request
• Lab & Radiology Results
• Medical Records
• Patient Documents

Bridge also provides several optional add-ons, including:

• Mobile App
• Self Scheduling
• Patient Intake
• Bill Pay
• Tasking Center

Bridge is a fully customizable patient portal solution. New modules can be added to the platform at any time. Bridge can determine whether a custom feature is feasible or not and the associated costs. In some cases, Bridge will not charge for customizations if it is believed it would be beneficial for all Bridge users.

All of Bridge’s installations are designed to meet the healthcare organization’s brand identity. Healthcare organizations can also choose to reserve requested portal customization for the organization’s use only. This is a common request in cases where the customization is part of a client’s “secret sauce.” If the client requires something that is not listed, the healthcare organization can request a new feature. There is a good chance the patient portal development team is already developing it or has it scheduled for development.

Apple® is not willing to sign a BAA; therefore, its services, including FaceTime®, are not technically HIPAA compliant.

Further recommended reading:Is Apple FaceTime® a HIPAA Compliant Telehealth Software Platform.

Facebook Messenger™ fails to meet all four HIPAA requirements and is not considered a HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform.

Further recommended reading: Is Facebook Messenger™ a HIPAA Compliant Telemedicine Platform?

Yes, the Digital Front Door concept denotes a one-stop-shop for patients to access a variety of self-service tools and patient resources to better manage their care. Bridge further accomplishes this goal by allowing custom features to be added to the patient portal’s web and mobile app navigation, as well as supporting the customization of particular features.

Patients are required to sign a telemedicine informed consent form before participating in a telemedicine consultation through the Bridge. In this way, patients accept the terms of conducting a medical visit via video chat, including potential benefits, constraints, and risks.

Bridge currently integrates with Zoom® for virtual visits. Bridge is exploring other beneficial integrations. There are plans to develop a Bridge virtual care module in 2021.

Bridge offers a telehealth solution that leverages Zoom® for Healthcare. The virtual visits solution easily connects with healthcare organization’s existing digital tools and connects disparate touchpoints along the patient journey—providing patients with a seamless experience and improving patient satisfaction.

How It Works:

1. Patients can request a video e-consultation by selecting the provider, date, and type of appointment. 
2. Zoom creates a unique video visit room code for that appointment.
3. An email confirmation plus notification reminders are triggered at preset intervals before the appointment.
4. The patient receives a secure notification with a link to the portal that allows them to securely join the Zoom meeting.

Zoom is willing to sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is an important element for HIPAA compliance, but it lacks end-to-end encryption which is the most important step towards achieving HIPAA compliance. At the time of writing, there are multiple security issues preventing HIPAA-compliance.

Read: Is Zoom a HIPAA Compliant Telehealth Software?

Yes. Please feel free to ask us about any feature that you would like to have installed. There is a good chance the patient portal development team is already developing it or has it scheduled for development.

Yes. Bridge has a C-CDA parser tool on the backend that allows the system to pull in and sort data from disparate sources accurately.

Yes.Bridge is available as a mobile healthcare app, with native support for Android and iOS. The app is an extension of the provider portal and replicates the same functionality that is available in the portal. 

Parents can have an account for each of their individual children. Modeled after recognizable social media applications, parents can intuitively toggle between the profiles of their children. This feature clearly displays which child’s information the parent may be viewing, allowing the parent to manage his/her child’s appointments, prescription requests, and medical records with ease. Bridge also has a built-in age of majority software that automatically disconnects a child from a parent’s account when the child reaches the age of majority.

To learn more about Pediatric specific portal features, please see: 3 Portal Features Every Pediatric Clinic, and Parent Should Know.

Enabling or disabling a patient or proxy user’s login is at the discretion of an organization’s portal admin. The process to disable or enable a login simply requires an admin to update the login accounts status from within the portal. If the client would like to enable or disable multiple user logins simultaneously, there is a function in the admin panel.

Technically, yes. Bridge offers a form builder which allows clients to build their own forms. Form building does pose its own challenges though, as in most cases the form fields are expected to be interfaced to the associated EHR or PM system to specific discrete data fields. The routing to the discrete data fields must first be established before the form field can be added to the form. In most cases, Bridge’s form builder is used for modifying existing forms once the form field linkages have been made.

Bridge Essential includes the following modules:

• Client-Branded
• Appointment Requests
• Self Portal Registration
• Two-Factor Authentication
• Patient Forms
• Appointment Reminders
• Broadcast & Mass Patient Messaging
• Proxy/Family/Caregiver Accounts
• Secure Patient Messaging
• Patient Surveys
• Rx Refill Request
• Lab & Radiology Results
• Medical Records
• Patient Documents

Bridge also provides several optional modules, including:

• Mobile App
• Self Scheduling
• Patient Intake
• Bill Pay
• Tasking Center
• Zoom® Video Visit Integration
• Healthwise® Patient Education Integration

Learn how Bridge’s full patient engagement suite is priced here.

Bridge has the ability to filter/restrict data at the interface layer.

Skype® is currently not HIPAA compliant. While Skype’s ® encryption methods are secure, one of the most compelling reasons against the use of Skype® for healthcare provider-patient communication is that Skype® will not enter into a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is required under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule. Organizations that use the software to communicate with patients over the Internet should be aware of the risks involved and consider using other video conferencing platforms instead.

Read: Is Skype® HIPAA Compliant?

Bridge is a patient portal supplier, and pricing is based on a combination of the number of providers and active patients to ensure that clients are not overbilled for under-utilized systems.

Learn how Bridge’s full patient engagement suite is priced here.

Yes, Bridge’s web browser-based application is mobile-friendly by using responsive design, ensuring a user-friendly experience on all devices. Bridge also offers a  native mobile app that clients can brand to their organization allowing hospitals and health systems a way to build their brand further. The Bridge app is an extension of the patient portal and replicates the same functionality that is available in the portal.

• Singular app for all online patient services
• iOS and Android enabled
• Select from a suite of pre-built features, or add custom features
• Support for multiple interfaces, including EHR & RCM
• Advanced patient authentication and security

Bridge can also ensure that the branded mobile app is both HIPAA and ADA compliant.

Bridge contains a form builder in the chronic care management solution that enables administrators to develop custom forms to be used in their CCM program.

Healthcare organizations can track the time spent providing chronic care management services. The chronic care management solution has a built-in timer. Every time a care coach accesses a patient chart, reviews the patient health records, updates or modifies the patient’s care plan, or communicates with the patient via phone or email, the time spent in each activity is automatically recorded. At the end of the month, healthcare organizations can run a billing report for each provider that details the amount of time spent on the chronic care management service.

Bridge CCM is a chronic care management software solution that helps healthcare providers track medical treatments and health conditions between office visits. It was developed as a tool to increase reimbursements through CPT code 99490, Medicare’s new chronic care management code.

No. Bridge can’t bring over the patients’ old passwords, but does make it easy for patients to self-register and set a new password for their automatically created/migrated account.

After the portal is migrated, patients would receive a welcome email and upon clicking the URL link in the welcome email, they would be invited to complete an expedited registration process by verifying their identity with a unique identifier.

Bridge helps transfer data from the existing portal, EHR, or PM software. Before importing data, patients need to have portal accounts. The easiest way to create a large number of accounts is by using a CSV file or an interface to the EHR/PM system. Once accounts are created, Bridge can import Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) from the EHR or PM software using a common directory on the local server. Bridge can also pull information about appointments, documents, invoices, and more from the source system. Bridge’s system can also automatically create providers. Bridge’s expert team will guide healthcare organizations through the entire migration and go-live process.