Businesses with large workforces and multiple locations are finding innovative uses for mHealth.
The latest tool comes from UL Workplace Health and Safety, which has unveiled a mobile app that enables occupational health management executives to schedule, conduct and track employee vaccinations in the field.
"It's our first real dive into (mHealth)," said Mark Tochtenhagen, director of health solutions for the Franklin, Tenn.-based company. "Being able to simplify the whole process for employers and their employees is extremely important."
Tochtenhagen said company executives are under strict mandates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that their employees are vaccinated against a number of diseases and conditions. By integrating the Mobile Vaccine App into their OHM platform, executives can update employee records on the go, recording consents and vaccinations at the point of care and providing an audit trail for CDC reporting.
That's important not only for healthcare providers, but for large corporations with multiple locations and many employees. UL Workplace Health and Safety's app enables those in charge of vaccination programs – be they required by the CDC, or perhaps flu shots offered during flu season – to keep track of employees at the point of vaccination, rather than back in the office.
OHM executives "usually don't have clinics on-site, so they have to do a lot of traveling," said Tochtenhagen. "This enables them to automate" what has traditionally been a complex process rife with paperwork and missed opportunities. "Just getting the consent process automated has been great for them," he added.
The app was part of a comprehensive product upgrade rolled out by the company this past June.
“These substantial enhancements … reflect our commitment to facilitate collaboration between health and safety in order to help our customers create workplaces free of illness and injury,” said Bill Grana, UL Workplace Health and Safety's president, in a press release. “Inspired by customer feedback, our advancements are designed to break down barriers to information sharing and streamline processes between health and safety teams. This level of engagement is a key component of building and sustaining a strong culture of safety and overall workforce health protection and promotion.”
Tochtenhagen sees UL Workplace Health and Safety building out its mobile capabilities in the future, enabling clients to manage vaccinations for hepatitis and tuberculosis – "any one-and-done vaccine." He also sees opportunities for mHealth in biometric screenings and at company-developed health fairs.
"This has been an extremely enlightening project," he said. "Not many people knew what we could do (with mHealth tools) in this space. Now we do."
