Inspiration
We have Facebook for our social lives and LinkedIn for our professional careers. Why don't we have an interactive healthcare network? During our brainstorming session, one team member, Jackie Ennis, communicated her surprise when she realized how extensive her health records were at her routine cardiologist appointment. The length of the paperwork would make it nearly impossible for her doctor to search for a specific detail in the average fifteen minutes spent in the exam room. Currently, the patient record system has numerous problems that hinder its efficiency. For example, cost is an important concern when patients receive unnecessary, repetitive medical procedures that have been conducted in other medical facilities. Physical records are time-consuming to maintain and can be difficult to attain from external medical care centers. No digital platform exists to confidentially update and circulate medical data within the healthcare circle (hospital/clinic, medical provider, and patient) which can be confidentially accessed anytime, anywhere. The pitches presented at Health++ and Jackie's personal experience inspired us as a team to build a universal patient record system for healthcare providers to confidentially upload and transfer data among other contacts the patient grants access to. Patients should not have to be responsible for physically transporting test results from location to location. Patients and healthcare providers should only be focused on implementing the best treatment plan; uninterrupted by Leaf revolutionizes the way doctors and patients keep track of their medical records; addressing the needs ranging from basic biological information to detailed post-op care instructions or digital copies of CT Scans (all of which is searchable on Leaf).
What it does
Leaf provides an universal platform that allows seamless transfers of patient data among healthcare providers. The platform empowers patients by allowing them to easily access their health records from different EHRs and unifies medical professionals and facilities by establishing a single location for patient records. Leaf also allows medical providers to confidentially document patient records and navigate searchable data.
How we built it
During the design process, the first step was to identify problems failed attempts at constructing a universal medical record system. We narrowed down the problem to two main notions: lack of universal adaptability and complicated interface. Currently, traditional EHRs lacks a mean to communicate with each other. Patients who attend different hospitals do not have a way to access their comprehensive health records and data. PHRs do not offer direct exchange of information between different healthcare providers. One competitor, Apple Health, is limited to Apple consumers and does not allow medical professionals to visibly edit or input information on the patient's interface. Epic MyChart, on the other hand, can only be utilized in hospitals with Epic's own EHR system. With Leaf, we aimed to tackle these two problems. We built an iOS compatible app with S code and used sketch for design.
Challenges we ran into
Our team encountered challenges arising from competitive advantages. We had minimal time to scope the market and research similar products that exist. However, in our limited but effectively utilized time span, our team managed to identify the strengths of weaknesses of current digital health recording systems to create this user friendly platform. Another challenge was making the app comprehensive but not overwhelming for medical professionals and patients.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Our team is incredibly proud of Leaf's widespread applicability and feasibility in the healthcare world.
What we learned
We learned that an interactive patient record platform can eliminate many pain points in modern medicine. We still have more to learn about implementing Leaf.
What's next for Leaf
Leaf can generate revenue through the incorporation of non-user specific ads and even government subsidies. The platform will charge hospitals for the utilization of Leaf based on the number of patients whose information they will access. By keeping Leaf free of charge to patients, we do not add to the financial burdens of lower and middle income families. To implement the platform, we plan to educate hospitals, private practices, and clinics on the benefits of the platform. The software can even be employed in under-resourced hospitals since only a smartphone or basic computer is needed to effectively use Leaf.
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