The Nurse Keith Show is a national podcast focused on personal and professional development, healthcare careers, and the ins-and-outs of a healthcare system. Nurse Keith shares his ideas and experience on education and conducts informative interviews with leading minds in healthcare, including nursing, technology experts, emerging leaders, insights on medicine, and beyond.

Our CEO, Chris Turner, and Chief of Staff, Josh Bokor recently sat down with Nurse Keith to share how HealthBook+ allows employers to help their staff monitor, manage, and respond to their mental and physical health needs.

The origins of HealthBook+

Everyone loves a good origin story. HealthBook+ was created by several inquisitive professionals who knew there had to be a better way to manage health data. CEO Chris Turner was on a business trip in Europe and met professionals from Greece, who owned and operated an extensive international shipping company. They were struggling to provide the best care for the employees that worked on the ships. “There was certainly a disconnect from the employees who worked on the ships and the captains who managed the voyage,” said Chris. “They represented different parts of the world and communication was challenging. The only available health data for each individual on the ship was the health and physical (H&P) that they received during the pre-boarding process. If any problematic health issue happened while out at sea, it could be devastating for the individual and certainly have a negative outcome for the shipping itinerary.”  

Not having a complete health profile of the employees on the ship led to an inability to get the right information to properly care for their needs. This resulted in less-than-ideal health outcomes and also to the ship being diverted—which cost millions of dollars to the shipping business. This led to an idea that was proposed by one of the owners of the shipping company: what if we built a health record with health systems? (Greece does not use electronic health records.) “This is a groundbreaking moment,” said Chris. “If people could have access to their health data, own that data, and then have AI help guide them to the next best health action, we could help people better manage their health while also providing a smart solution for businesses in helping their employees.”

From this idea, Healthbook+ was established as an early identification and guided platform that helps people truly own their health.

What is health ownership?

Nurse Keith was curious about the idea of “health ownership” and wanted to know the difference between HealthBook+ and a regular electronic medical record (EMR).

Chris explained that HealthBook+ is able to connect with 85% of EMRs implemented in the U.S. and also connects with payers to round out the health data with claims data. Additionally, biometric information from wearable devices, such as watches, can be connected to the HealthBook+ platform, as well as the ability to self-report information. “So if you’re like me,” he continued, “And you’re older than EMRs, you can put in that knee surgery you had when you were a teenager so providers can get access to that health information.”

The difference between HealthBook+ and an EMR is that with HealthBook+, the owner of the healthcare data gets to choose who they share their information with, how long they share it, and what components of their health record they want to share. Nurse Keith brought up a valid concern for many people: what about data security?

One of the core values at HealthBook+ is the dedication to data security—the platform is HIPAA-compliant, and Healthbook+ never sells or shares data that could identify an individual. “We take the data from a population of people, de-identify it, and then aggregate it so we can also help employers understand the programs they could provide for their employee population, but there is no way they can identify an individual out of that data,” Chris expanded.

The importance of providing preventative care to staff

HealthBook+ began from the need to provide better, more streamlined care. As an early identification and guided health platform, the goal of HealthBook+ is to empower health and well-being using innovative technologies to help guide and enable better health decisions.

After a short break, Nurse Keith dug into the core of the conversation, asking: “When it comes to this sort of technology, why is it so important for healthcare employers, hospitals, clinics, etc. to support the wellness of their staff, and what do they get out of it?”

Chris began with a high-level perspective: it’s a cost savings for the employer. He continued by explaining that if employees are in better health, there’s less unplanned leave—not to mention that if an employee feels better, their work is better. This applies to healthcare providers as well, who have felt the weight of the pandemic and are burned out.  “They can sometimes feel like so much is being thrown at them during the pandemic.” 

Josh chimed in, “When you care about employees, they’re going to show up, want to work hard for you, which ultimately in the healthcare system is going to provide better patient care.”