Problem

Doctors are overwhelmed with data. They spend 12% of their time looking up clinical data when they could be seeing patients and still information gets missed. In fact, the IOM has identified untimely access to clinical data as a leading contributor to the 3rd leading cause of death in the US: medical errors. Existing information systems and electronic medical records are better optimized for billing and documentation than they
are for making care safer. There has to be a better way.

Solution

Herald solves the data overload problem for doctors. Using Herald, doctors can subscribe to or even create their own protocols to receive alerts when important information is entered into the medical record. This includes labs, vital signs, radiology reports, admission or transfers, and even combinations of these such as rising risk. This untethers doctors from the medical record and allows them to spend more time taking care of patients while guaranteeing that the right information gets to the right people at the right time.

Challenges and Features

• Concurrency and responsiveness at production volumes in a large academic medical system
• HIPAA compatibility and healthcare grade security
• User-centered design focus and intuitive interface that is well-loved by busy clinicians
• Integration and translation of multiple information systems and data streams

Awards and Honors

• HHS ONC Provider User Experience Challenge First Place Prize
• Harvard University Dean’s Health and Life Science Grand Prize
• MassChallenge Finalist
• Athenahealth’s More Disruption Please Innovation Challenge Honorable Mention
• MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize Finalist
• Harvard Business School Rock Accelerator Fellow
• Microsoft Azure Prize
• Validic mHealth Prize