UCSF to Use Dignity Health Digital Platform to Increase Health Access

Dignity Health and UCSF Health are collaborating to develop a state-of-the-art digital engagement platform that will provide information and access to patients when and where they need it as they navigate primary and preventive care, as well as more acute or specialty care.

The platform, which ultimately aims to serve as a model for health systems nationwide, will be hosted by Dignity Health. The two health care organizations will leverage technological expertise and cloud-based infrastructure that Dignity Health has developed for its 40 hospitals. As one of the nation’s top-ranked academic medical centers, UCSF Health will contribute its extensive knowledge of the patient experience in specialty care.

The two health care organizations will develop a trusted path of digital access across the patient journey using the proprietary cloud-based platform of Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems.

“Our collaboration with Dignity Health will empower patients and their families with digital health care and connectivity, while simplifying the provider experience,” said Shelby Decosta, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for UCSF Health. “Together, with Dignity Health, we are opening new pathways for health care organizations to create a superior experience for their own patients and ultimately, for patients nationwide.”  

In the first phase of the digital collaboration, UCSF is redesigning the user experience of its web and mobile properties and leveraging Dignity Health’s technical expertise to re-envision how the medical center delivers information to patients. The personalized, mobile-responsive infrastructure is supported by rich analytics and machine learning. In later phases, UCSF’s Center for Digital Health Innovation and Dignity Health will map out the multiple pathways that patients follow in moving from primary and secondary care to more acute care services, to create a robust digital system that connects patients and providers, while providing patients with the information they need throughout the process. 

“Dignity Health is pushing the boundaries of digital transformation and digital therapeutics across the continuum of care,” said Dr. Shez Partovi, chief digital officer of Dignity Health. “We are committed to care for all, and are incorporating innovative digital experiences that are simple and enable patients to make better informed decisions about their health. This collaboration between UCSF and Dignity Health will set a new national standard for how patients should be supported through their digital health care journeys with intensely positive and personal experiences.” 

The two organizations collaborated recently to combine the best of academic medicine and community-based care to increase access to high-quality, affordable care, and to improve the overall health care experience for patients in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Dignity Health has developed nearly a dozen apps that create a highly personalized digital experience for patients across several care journeys, including maternal care, such as the “My Baby” pregnancy app, which provides end-to-end care for expecting mothers. 

About Dignity Health: Dignity Health is one of the nation's largest health care systems. As of June 30, 2017, Dignity Health operated more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging and surgery centers, home health, and primary care clinics in 22 states, through its network of more than 9,000 physicians and 63,000 employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In its fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, Dignity Health provided $2.6 billion in charitable care and services. More information on Dignity Health is available at www.dignityhealth.org.

About UCSF Health: UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its highly innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is ranked among the top five hospitals nationwide, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with campuses in San Francisco and Oakland, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.ucsfhealth.org. Follow UCSF Health on Facebook or on Twitter.