RALEIGH – WakeMed is working with a Georgia company to develop what it says will be the first “wayfinding” app for patients and visitors with deployment expected in early 2019.
The app is being paid for by the WakeMed Foundation.
Designed to provide information from parking to in-facility directions and to engage with patients on a number of issues, the wayfinding app is being designed in collaboration with Atlanta-based Gozio.
“We interviewed five different companies who work in this space and many factors led to our decision to work with Gozio,” Kristin Kelly Gruman,
Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals, tells WRAL TechWire.
Full screen view of WakeMed app prototype
“We chose Gozio because of their exclusive focus on health care and genuine understanding of the patient and family experience. We have seen firsthand how they have dealt with other complex health care systems and their ability to integrate the functionality we need. Gozio is also endorsed by the American Hospital Association.”
WakeMed and Gozio also have a great deal of data to input.
“We have approximately 3 million square feet to map, plus five parking decks and more,” Gruman points out.
The final look has not been finalized, she adds, but the app is set to ” go live in 120-160 days.”
The app will be free and available for download on both Apple and Android phones, she adds.
WakeMed believes it will be the first health system in the state to have such an app.
It will feature a “GPS-like experience” while providing what it calls “intuitive navigation” as well turn-by-turn directions from home to parking space to point of care.
The app will cover any WakeMed hospital, healthplex or outpatient site.
Patients will be able to access their medical records through WakeMed MyChart and will include “Find a Doctor” database.
They also can check on wait times, make appointments and check on wait times at emergency care and urgent care.
“Improving access and engaging with our patients at each step of their journey before, during and after care is a core value of WakeMed,” said Debbie Laughery, vice president of Marketing & Communications for WakeMed, in a statement. “WakeMed is a large and growing health system, and we want to make it easier for the community to find their way as they navigate our facilities. This app will be another tool to help guide patients to their point of care as well as access the right resources to meet their health needs.”
