Voice of the Customer Drives Platform Development at Zipnosis

Innovation Advisory Council and Clinical Advisory Council Help Shape Strategic Direction to Exceed Market Demands

Leading virtual care company Zipnosis today announced the expansion of its Clinical Quality Advisory Council and launch of its Innovation Advisory Council. This move is part of the company’s ongoing strategy of engaging customers and industry leaders to advance virtual care and support the ability of healthcare providers to leverage virtual care as a delivery channel.

Both groups are comprised of a blend of health system leaders and Zipnosis team members, creating collaborative working groups focused on advancing care quality and expanding utility of the virtual care platform.

Innovation Advisory Council

The newly launched Innovation Advisory Council (IAC) is comprised of seven health system leaders as well as Zipnosis executives Dr. Lisa Ide, Dr. Kevin Smith and Jon Pearce. The IAC held its first meeting August 31, during which members discussed topics including technology’s impact on physician burnout, the potential for virtual care to support longitudinal patient needs, and how to leverage the virtual care platform to push patient education, among others. The IAC was founded to support focused, targeted platform expansion, ensuring the strategic and tactical needs of health systems are being met.

“We’ve only scratched the surface of what virtual care technology can do for providers and patients,” said IAC member Dr. Eric Wallace, UAB Medical Director of Telemedicine and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division on Nephrology and Co-Director of Home Dialysis at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. “It’s important that we come together as an industry to shape the future of care delivery, and that is precisely what the IAC is about.”

“This was a great first discussion, and I’m excited to leverage the voice of our customers as we continue to grow the Zipnosis platform,” added Dr. Ide, Chief Medical Officer, Zipnosis and Founder, IAC.

Health system members of the IAC include:

  • Eric Wallace, MD, FASN, University of Alabama Birmingham Medicine
  • James McElligott, MD, MSCR, Medical University of South Carolina
  • Kim DeRoche, MD, Fairview Health Services
  • Mike Reis, MD, Baylor, Scott and White
  • Steve North, MD, Mission Health
  • Steve Waldren, MD, MS, American Academy of Family Physicians
  • Taejoon Ahn, MD, MPH, CPE, John Muir Health

Clinical Quality Advisory Council

The Clinical Quality Advisory Council (CQAC) launched in 2017 with seven members and a mandate to set and monitor quality standards for care delivered via the Zipnosis platform. Since then, the CQAC has expanded to include 12 members who are clinical leaders from health systems across the country, along with Dr. Ide, Dr. Smith and Spat Rajbhandari, RN, MSN, from the Zipnosis clinical informatics team.

Most recently, the CQAC held a day-long meeting at Zipnosis’ downtown Minneapolis office in advance of the 2018 Zipnosis Customer Summit, during which members analyzed clinical quality performance on the platform and affirmed criteria for determining adherence to evidence-based practice for sinusitis, urinary tract infections, and conjunctivitis. The group also discussed newly released protocols and protocol updates, including dermatology visit metrics and lab testing for STDs.

“Clinical quality is often something that’s assumed but not evaluated. As part of the Clinical Quality Advisory Council, I get to see the quality results first-hand and help set and monitor standards for care quality,” said Dr. Michael Marshall, Chief Medical Officer at Methodist Medical Group who was present for the September meeting.

Health system members of the CQAC include:

  • Boris Beckert, MD, MBA, Fairview Health Services
  • Brian Bossard, MD, Bryan Health
  • Deborah Greer, MD, John Muir Health
  • Edward O’Bryan, MD, Medical University of South Carolina
  • Evelyn Balogun, MD, MPH, MBA, FACOEM, Inspira Health Network
  • James Burrell III, MD, Medical City Healthcare
  • Jane Herrmann, MD, MBA, Allina Health
  • Michael Marshall, MD, Methodist Health System
  • Michael Whitcomb, MD, Essentia Health
  • Stephanie Cowan, DNP, FNP-C, MultiCare Health System
  • Steve North, MD, MPH, Mission
  • Vimarsh Raina, MD, Ascension Wisconsin
  • William Granger, Mercy Health

About Zipnosis
Zipnosis offers health systems a leading virtual care platform that pairs traditional telemedicine with next-generation online virtual care tools to drive exceptional clinical quality, significant clinical efficiency and durable financial returns.