ZEISS Medical Technology has launched ZEISS Collaborative Care, a new browser-based software application designed to support and advance eyecare professional (ECP) collaboration.
The new solution is making its U.S. debut during this week’s Vision Expo (March 11-14) in Orlando, Florida.
Let’s start with this platform.
Built on the ZEISS Health Data Platform, this software application is intended to address long-standing ophthalmic care challenges such as:
- Fragmented data sharing
- Inefficient referral processes
How: By allowing real-time communication, structured referrals, and secure patient data sharing between providers for improved care coordination across the ophthalmic workflow.
Tell me more about its design.
The platform is built on ZEISS’s Healthcare Data Platform (HDP), a cloud-based digital infrastructure that aggregates and manages all operations of the ZEISS Medical Ecosystem—which also encompasses the ZEISS Surgical Cloud and Research Data Platform (launched last year).
- In relation to this Collaborative Care app: The HDP also facilitates data sharing between medical devices, healthcare systems and digital applications.
Go on …
The app integrates into existing ZEISS solutions and can be used as a stand-alone cloud solution or as a connected extension of the ZEISS FORUM ophthalmic software to allow “diagnostic data, images, and insights” to be shared in secure, browser-based collaboration systems.
- This flexibility ensures providers—regardless of their current digital infrastructure—can participate in efficient, data-driven care pathways,” ZEISS stated.
Give me a breakdown of its capabilities.
While we briefly mentioned Collaborative Care’s real-time collaboration tools—sharing, referring, and networking—here’s a deeper dive into each:
Via its share function, the app allows ECPs to :
- Securely exchange images, reports, and patient data for a second opinion (and more concrete clinical decision-making)
- Consult with peers on challenging cases to validate assessments and identify best care pathways for patients
- Communicate with each other in real-time via a digital chat and stay updated with email notifications
And with its referral function, ECPs can streamline referral workflows by:
- Sending, tracking, and prioritizing referrals to ensure “the right data gets to the right provider at the right time”
- Coordinating patient care updates between referring and receiving ECPs to refine patients’ journeys (from consultation to specialist care)
- Easily receiving and downloading patient data into their systems for comprehensive analysis and documentation
How does networking fit into this?
The user-friendly app utilizes its networking functionality to strengthen ECPs’ professional networks and improve their continuity of care—specifically by:
- Building stronger connections, open communication, and trust between optometrists and ophthalmologists for better patient care
- Exchanging clinical knowledge and allowing peer support access at anytime and anywhere to advance their clinical practices
- Enabling collaboration within the app’s browser as well as across both ZEISS and non-ZEISS systems
I’m interested in adding this to my workflow … how do I get started?
Reach out to the company directly for details on product availability.
And if you’re attending Vision Expo this week, stop by the ZEISS booth (#3503) for a demonstration!