Care3 News & Events
Care3 - Designed by and for people who care
Whether you care for family members, or you’re a care professional, Care3 was designed for you. Check out this 90 second video on the caregiving mistakes that led to the founding Care3 from CEO, David S. Williams III. You can avoid the mistakes he made using Care3 for your family care needs.
When you care for family, you have so many activities and responsibilities. You have to:
manage health records and data
manage medications and supplements
schedule and attend appointments with rides
cook meals according to diet restrictions
track symptoms to know what treatments are working
report unexpected events or behavior
talk with the care team (doctors, nurses, therapists, etc.)
keep family members updated on the latest
You can do all of these and more in one app. It’s Care3. If you haven’t logged into Care3 recently, download the latest iOS or Android app or log in at www.care3.co and see what’s new.
Most importantly, don’t forget to care for yourself. Care3 makes it easy to track your daily mood to acknowledge your feelings, see your own trends, and address any issues that emerge. You can do this.
Treat Us Right. The Podcast by Care3
COVID-19 has changed the world forever. The healthcare system has to change with it. Health disparities were evident prior to the pandemic, but now the light is blazing bright on the consequences when people of color, the disabled, and the poor do not receive equal care. The Treat Us Right Podcast gives you tips and techniques on how to take control of your personal and family health by controlling your health information. Host David S. Williams III, MBA, CEO of Care3, Inc., has built three successful companies helping over 2 million people manage personal health information to force better care and achieve improved health. Help your doctors Treat Us Right. Subscribe now.
Join 2,100 others and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Podcasts.
Do You Own Your Health Information? Epic Says No!
Hey everybody, David Williams, CEO of Karen here, and I want to alert you to an article that's been published, an op-ed in Stat News. It discusses Epic, the leading electronic medical record (EMR) company. You might ask, why does Epic matter to me? Well, EMRs, are the systems in which all of your health information is stored. When you go to the doctor, when you're in the hospital, EMRs are the systems they use to store your health information. The op-ed sounds the alarm about how Epic doesn't want to have information that's stored in their systems to be shared other apps or EMRs.
Judy Faulkner, CEO of Epic has been lobbying hospital CEOs to oppose a federal rule under consideration that would force EMR companies to make their stored data easily shareable across other software systems.
From the op-ed:
In its arguments against the rule, Epic claims that its concern is about protecting patient privacy. It is supporting a meme that patients cannot be trusted to choose their own health apps….Here, Epic has taken the position of the fox arguing that chicken wire is a threat to chickens’ freedom to walk around.
Epic’s CEO was calling on health systems to resist the federal law under consideration that says information should be transferable to protect their virtual monopoly on YOUR health data. The data stored in the EMR is YOURS by law.
Epic is trying to create a monopoly in the electronic medical record market and monopolize your health data. That is unacceptable. They want to own your data and they don't want you to control your data. They want to be the owner and the arbiter of who gets information that belongs to you so they get paid for it.
At Karen, we give you the power over your health information, the ability to control the ownership, the storage, the access, the sharing, even being able to generate new data that is much more descriptive and predictive of your health experience. That’s what you want and need from a company that holds your most precious information, that about your health.
If you have any questions, please drop us a line at myphi at yeskaren dot com. We are happy to share more about PHI ownership and how Karen gives you control.
Check out our new video above to learn more!
UPDATED 2/6/20: Christina Farr of CNBC posted an article with the signatories of 60 hospital systems that are supporting Epic’s opposition to the data-sharing rule proposed by HHS. Their position is a disgrace and will hurt us as patients and our families trying to share our data when needed. Let’s take control of our health data! Use the hashtag #MyPHI to let your voice be heard on social media.
Introducing: Your PHI Conversation
All Care3 members get their own PHI Conversation
Many of us have a binder with our past health history or that of our loved ones. Now you can transfer that paper binder to a “Digital Binder” that goes with you everywhere. We call it your PHI Conversation (PHI stands for personal health information). You can add files, doctor appointments, care tasks, track symptoms and incidents, and invite others (family, friend, doctor, nurse, etc.) to your PHI Conversation.
Why do we call this a “Conversation”? Because the goal is not just to have a place for you to store and capture your healthcare experience or that of a loved one, but also to share and discuss that information on an ongoing basis with people who can help you and/or your loved one live your best life. That’s the best kind of conversation we can and should have with those who care.
This post provides all the information you need to master the use of your PHI Conversation. Note, you can create a PHI Conversation for someone you’re caring for so you have access to their information as well. Let’s get started!
Note: Bookmark this post so you can refer back to it whenever you have to interact with your new PHI Conversation (Digital Binder).
Your PHI Conversation appears on your Conversations home screen
Find Your PHI Conversation (Digital Binder)
1 . From the Conversations home screen, find the one titled, “(Your First Name)’s PHI”. Tap into it and you will see a blank space. This conversation includes ONLY YOU. When you’re ready, you can invite others to your PHI Conversation.
2. To add items, scroll down to section called, Add Items to Your PHI Conversation.
Create a PHI Conversation for a Loved One
1. To create a PHI Conversation for someone you’re caring for, press the “chat” space icon in the lower right to create the a new Conversation.
2. By tapping the “+” button to Add to Conversation Group, select “Phone or Email” and enter YOUR email you used to create your MitoAction Mobile account. Tap “save”.
3 . Enter a Title: “Jane’s PHI” or similar. Adding an Image is optional.
4 . Tap “done” in the upper right corner.
Your PHI Conversation for someone you’re caring for is now created! You will see it on your home screen with the Title you just entered. Now let’s start adding some items to your and your loved one’s PHI Conversations.
Add Items to PHI Conversation (Digital Binder)
From Your Mobile Phone (iOS or Android):
To get started, tap into your PHI Conversation or the one you created for your Loved One.
1 . Tap the +” button in the lower left corner to show the media menu.
2. Tap the camera icon to take a photo. Choose “Capture Image” from the menu. Take the picture and tap “Use Photo”. The image is now in the message box.
3. Type a description of the image. Use keywords like “labs” that will make it easy to search for the image later when you need it. Tap “send”.
4. View your item in your PHI Conversation. The image is saved on our HIPAA-compliant cloud server.
From Your Computer:
1. Go to https://careplanner.care3.co/messaging/ and log in using your MitoAction Mobile powered by Care3 credentials (email and password).
2. Click (select) your PHI Conversation or the one you set up for your Loved One.
3. In the right section, tap the “+” icon to reveal “add media” menu. Select “file upload”.
4. Then select the file you wish to add to your PHI Conversation and click the “Open” button.
Note: You can also drag and drop files directly from your computer’s directory into the PHI Conversation.
That’s it! Repeat these steps for every item you want to have access to from your paper records. Now you have access to them from anywhere at anytime.
Invite Others to Your PHI Conversation
1 . To invite someone (family, friend, doctor, nurse, etc.) to your PHI Conversation, tap the “members” icon in the upper right corner.
2 . Tap the “add member” icon in the lower left corner. It’s the one with the “+” sign.
Steps 3, 4, and 5 appear on this image
3 . Tap “Add to Conversation” and select from the menu how you’d like to add the member. Most people choose “Add E-mail of Phone Number”. Add the person’s email address OR phone number—or select from your Contacts—or select from an existing Care Team.
4 . Make sure you tap “History Access” or “View Conversation History” to enable it (the toggle should be green). This gives full access to all files added to your PHI Conversation to the person you invite.
5 . Tap “save” and an invitation is automatically sent!
Now you have invited someone to your PHI Conversation (Digital Binder)! You can also send text and media messages about your healthcare to the person you invited after they join your PHI Conversation.
Care3 Adds New Languages! Spanish and Chinese
In our ongoing effort to provide access to Care3 to as many people as need it to care for loved ones, we have recently added both Spanish and Chinese (Simplified) language versions to our flagship family caregiving app! You can access the specific language download pages in the App Store or Google Play or simply download the app on the English language page. If your device settings already default to apps showing in either Spanish or Chinese, Care3 will automatically display that version.
Take care!
The Care3 Team
***********
En nuestro esfuerzo continuo para proporcionar acceso a Care3 a tantas personas como lo necesite para cuidar a sus seres queridos, recientemente hemos agregado versiones en idioma español y chino (simple) a nuestra aplicación insignia de cuidado familiar.
Puede acceder a las páginas de descarga de idiomas específicos en App Store o Google Play o simplemente descargar la aplicación en la página de idioma inglés. Si la configuración de su dispositivo ya está predeterminada para las aplicaciones en español o chino, Care3 mostrará automáticamente esa versión.
¡Cuídate!
El equipo de Care3
***********
在我们不断努力为所有需要照顾亲人的人提供Care3服务的同时，我们最近在我们的旗舰家庭护理应用程序中添加了西班牙语和中文（简体）语言版本！
您可以访问App Store或Google Play中的特定语言下载页面，或者只需在英文语言页面上下载该应用程序即可。 如果您的设备设置已经默认使用西班牙语或中文显示的应用程序，Care3会自动显示该版本。
保重！
Care3团队
What an Amazing 2017! Thank you!
It's been an amazing 2017 for Care3. We have expanded product features, built business partnerships, gained outstanding innovation recognition, and most importantly, helped bring better care and communications to families. Thank you for supporting Care3 and our mission to bring healthcare equality to the world through collaborative technology.
Selected 2017 Product Features
Care Planning: Action Planning by Care Discipline for PACE and other collaborative care programs
Mobile App: Espanol! All Care3 apps are available in Spanish language
Mobile App: New Onboarding Screens help users learn the features and functions of the app faster
Business Partnerships
National PACE Association Conference Keynote Sponsorship - A picture says a thousand words--to about a thousand people....
Recognition
Dec 11, 2017
HealthXL & AARP - New Models of Care Report - Care3 featured "Company to Watch in Aging Space"
Enabling Connected & Independent Living Through New Care Models
Oct 25, 2017
Insights Success Magazine - Care3 Award Recipient
The 10 Fastest Growing Healthcare Communications Solutions Companies 2017
Apr 10, 2017
Healthcare Tech Outlook Magazine - Care3 Award Recipient
The 10 Most Promising Healthcare Communications Provider Companies 2017
Growth
Care3 now has more than 2,500 users throughout the United States! More than 25,000 care actions have been shared on the platform. Thank you for caring for your loved one as a team. It makes things so much easier and reduces stress. Everyone appreciates!
Thanks again for an amazing 2017. We're energized to make 2018 bigger and better for everyone needing care to remain at their highest level. Happy Holidays and see you in the new year!
The (Unclear) Impact of Net Neutrality Repeal on Care3
Today's decision to roll back net neutrality regulations by the FCC may have far-reaching implications, but the impact on Care3 is still unclear. We are actively engaging in conversations with industry leaders and technology analysts to predict any issues that may arise that could impair our ability to deliver the highest quality planning and communications services for patients, families and the healthcare industry. Our goal in service development has always been to create a product that doesn't require much space on devices and is fast enough to perform at standards akin to old dial-up speeds. While we are still aspiring to those goals, repeal of net neutrality could change the rules so much that even platforms as optimized as Care3 could see performance slowdowns.
We will certainly keep you posted as we learn more and when any Internet Service Providers update their policies for how data is distributed to customers. Thank you for your attention to this issue.
The Care3 Team
Yes, you CAN get your family to help with caregiving. Here's how.
We know caring for others is hard--and sometimes you just need some help. The Care3 Way is based on families working together to care for loved ones--but we know that's sometimes, um, difficult. Whether it's lack of time, interest, personality clashes, or not knowing how to help, Care3 aims to engage those family members to get you the help you need by giving them convenient ways to help. Every task you can take off your plate gives you more time. How you use that time, we can't help with, but we know you'll figure it out.Care3 has a three-step process to get you prepare your family to collaborate on care and communicate progress with a text or a tap. It's called our Starter Care Plan.
How to Activate Your Starter Care Plan
Step 1: Invite Your Care Team
of trusted Family & Friends
Tap the
Care Teams
icon in the upper right corner of the home "Conversations" screen and then tap the Add Care Team button (shown on left) to Create a Care Team. Choose your Role ("Primary" is recommended) and tap "next" to go to the Invite screen. Add Care Team members by tapping "+" and entering emails, phone numbers, or device Contacts.
Tap "save" to send the invitations. The app then takes you to
Starter Care Plan
.
Step 2: Activate Your Starter Care Plan
of Common Care Tasks
Tap “get started” in the
Starter Care Plan
dialog box (appears right after you invite your Care Team). Review the tasks in your Daily and Weekly Activities lists. To add more activities, tap "add" in either Daily or Weekly sections and fill out the form. This is where you can add any items that are easy and convenient for others to do. Don't make excuses. Just add them. To remove activities, simply tap the check box to de-select.
Preparation complete. You're ready!
Tap the "start plan" button to activate. Each of your tasks, called
Actions,
appear in your new care Conversation. Now you or any Care Team member can tap "accept" on any Action to let everyone know that they will complete it. Watch them accept the tasks that are easy for them to do. That's the point! Make sure you send a "Welcome" text to the Care Team!
Step 3: View and Complete Actions
in My Actions Calendar
Now you can care for your loved one as a team. All accepted Actions are added to My Action Calendar. Tap the calendar icon on the home "Conversations" screen to view your Actions to-do list by date. When you complete an Action, tap the Action in the list and tap the "done" button at the bottom of the screen. This is VERY important because it notifies the Care Team that it was complete. Everyone wants to know!
This is how you get the most out of Care3. Thank you for choosing Care3 to help you care for your loved ones. Questions or comments? Contact us anytime at service@care3.co/blog.
Care3 Featured on AMC Channel's Newswatch Show
If you're one of the 95 million people who watch AMC, you may have seen Care3 today. Newswatch featured Care3 on its Appwatch segment to share how people can care for their families and keep everyone on the same page. Check out the video!
Care3 - Staying on the Same Page of Health History | NewsWatch Review from NewsWatch Television on Vimeo. Download Care3 now! Your loved ones deserve the best care you and your family can give.
The Security of Your Data on Care3
Dear Care3 Members,
The recent WannaCry ransomware attack received global attention because of its widespread impact on multiple countries and industry data. What wasn’t reported was that the healthcare industry was a prime target of the attack..
Care3 takes the security of your health conversations and data very seriously. Care3 was unaffected by the attack and have had zero hacking incidents in the history of our company.
The danger posed by hackers to global healthcare information systems is at a critical point. According to a recent article in Fortune titled,Why Health Care Is Especially Vulnerable to Ransomware Attacks, here’s why:
Outdated medical systems are woefully unprepared to deal with a new class of criminals willing to hold patients' medical data, credit card numbers, and other personal information hostage barring a big payout. In fact, the FBI has issued several stark warnings about the unique and growing threat ransomware presents to health care companies specifically in the past few months.
And consider this from the same article:
There are some obvious reasons that make the medical sector such an enticing target for criminals. For one, health information is simultaneously intensely personal, accompanied by crucial financial information, and universal—after all, health care consumerism isn't so much a choice as it is an ontological necessity of being a human.
This emerging security threat is one of the main reasons we built Care3 with such high levels of security—AND why we want you to have the ability to control your own health data and that of your loved ones you care for. Healthcare Tech Outlook has recognized us a Most Promising Healthcare App because we give you and your family the power to control your own data in interactions with health professionals.
Electronic health records are controlled by health providers and your access is limited. With Care3, you control access to all of the data shared in your conversations, including medications, images, video, audio, appointment dates, care tasks, and any text conversations around the care that you have with your family and close friends. This is all vital information for the health of your loved ones and should be directly under your control. Care3 gives you that control.
We urge you to continue using Care3 for your most important health conversations and for sharing healthcare data between family members and any health professionals you’re working with. Care3 keeps your health information under your control and protected from the rising threat to healthcare industry systems.
It’s our pledge to help you care for your loved ones and that includes protecting your personal health information.
Take care,
David S. Williams III
Co-Founder & CEO
Care3, Inc.
Our CEO's Caregiving Journey
Everything good in me came from my mother. She almost died giving birth to me. After surviving that, my brother and sister and all our childhood shenanigans, her life was filled with health episodes. You can see her journey below. Her cancers (bowel, liver, lung, breast) permeated her life. Her bipolar disorder fueled her success, but sometimes at great cost. And her COPD and heart failure pushed her decline. My siblings and I were caregivers for our mother for the entirety of our adult lives.
CaringForMom
d3d4
Another personal caregiving journey began when my first child was born. He is my son and namesake, David S. Williams IV. My role as "not only a parent" but active disease caregiver came at 24 months when D4 was diagnosed with severe autism. Now 11 years old, D4 still can't talk, isn't fully potty-trained, but because of our obsessively active treatment, has lost almost half of his autism by measurement. He also exhibits some savant-like intelligence that we are actively feeding for future development. Add all of this and our very inquisitive 8-year old daughter and my wife and I must be supremely organized (we plan everything), well-researched, efficiently active, and perhaps most importantly, willing to bring family and friends we trust in to help us be the best loving and successful parents.
I've created Care3 to help us achieve this goal.
Care3 is the caregiving platform for people who care FOR and ABOUT others. It helps you create a care team, plan care tasks, and easily communicate with everyone. There was no Care3 during my mother's 10 year decline prior to her passing. Hospital discharge plans were given to us on paper. Sure we'd fill the prescription and follow the instructions, but things sometimes fell through the cracks. The care plan wasn't sequenced and delivered to us in a way that could be easily integrated into our busy schedule.
Coordinating activities with others was also difficult because even well-intentioned family and friends didn't know how to help. While we were able to nurse Mom back to a level of health where she lived her final two years in her home, my siblings and I were not local and still found it difficult to coordinate her care. Losing Mom caused a tectonic shift in my life and started the path of recognition that caregiving had to be made easier, communication simpler, coordination more efficient, and activities integrated seamlessly into a caregiver's life. You will find Care3 enables all of that.
If you've taken the time to read this far, you are likely living a similar life situation. I’m more than asking you to sign up for Care3 (iOS and Android). I’m asking you to use it for initiating your most important conversations—those that require confidence, security, and are only shared with those closest to you. Care3 is built to carry conversations about health of loved ones and protect that information as you engage in the action of care, and it’s worthy of having any private conversation.
Care3 isn't for every conversation, just the important ones.
Anytime you want to initiate and have a “safe” conversation and discuss private matters, use Care3. Regular SMS text is not secure and unworthy of your trust when it comes to privacy. Emails get lost in the chaos of daily life. I consider messages on WhatsApp almost semi-public because you can see everyone who is also on that app. Do you trust Facebook or its messaging app to protect your most important and private discussions? But on Care3, you can engage in REAL conversations and they will be responded to with urgency and treated with the utmost privacy. You can discuss anything in small groups or just 1:1.
Thank you in advance for downloading Care3. Use it to communicate with the people closest to you about the things that are truly important--like caring for the people who brought you into this world and the ones you helped bring in it.
Take care,
David S. Williams III Founder and CEO, Care3
How to Make Providing Care More Difficult by the 115th Congress
By William Mintz, MBA, MHA - Co-Founder, Care3. Last week Congressional Republicans made public their plan to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act (ACA). While the positive impacts of the ACA are well documented and undisputed by most policy experts, the legislation has its challenges. Broadly speaking, people living in states that chose not participate in the ACA did not benefit as much as those in states that did participate. To address the perceived failing of the ACA, the repeal and replace legislation titled the American Health Care Act, focuses mainly on health insurance coverage. As it currently stands the AHCA would remove 14 million people from the insurance rosters next year and 24 million total by 2026. While the Congressional Budget Office has determined that the AHCA will have a positive impact on the federal budget, leading industry groups have stated that the AHCA would do more harm than good.
Sicker loved ones
The impact of the AHCA to caregivers will be significant. Without access to health insurance people will become sicker placing a greater burden on their caregivers. In the March 2017 issue of Health Affairs a study was released that concludes having health insurance would not only help people identify their chronic conditions, but it would help them bring the diseases under control. While the research into the effect of health insurance on health is not 100% conclusive across all conditions, it is widely accepted that the best means to a healthier population is through increasing access to health insurance.
Less professional support
All early analyses of the AHCA indicate that it will have a negative effect on providers. One of the landmark achievements of the ACA was to decrease the level of uncompensated care provided by doctors and hospitals. Prior to the ACA, the estimates for uncompensated care were over $62 billion annually and growing. With the additional revenue resulting from lower levels of uninsured and underinsured patients, providers have been able to increase service offerings and invest in population health management. The ACA directly incentivises doctors and hospitals to provide more holistic care. These incentives are being used to invest in population health management tools and services ranging from technology to home and community based services. Of the hundreds of cottage industries created by the ACA some of the most helpful to caregivers are home and community-based services. Without the ACA, access to these services would be much sparser making caregiving much more difficult.
Higher out of pocket expenses
The American Health Care Act does one thing well, it shifts the responsibility to pay for healthcare square on the shoulders of the consumer. The mantra of personal accountability is embodied by this proposed legislation. The AHCA emphasizes the use of health care savings accounts and tax credits. These financing mechanisms along with the changes to health insurance regulations will make health insurance out of reach for most Americans. Under the AHCA caregivers will have a catastrophic increase in out of pocket health expenditures. Not only will insurance premiums rise, but so will copays. Providers will increase initiatives to balance-bill patients as their revenue declines in step with the increase in uninsured and underinsured patients. Caregivers already spend nearly $7,000 annually on out of pocket costs associated with caregiving. Being a caregiver is already financially burdensome, and under the AHCA being a caregiver could be worse.
The ACA was not perfect out of the gate, and that was very much by design. Progress must not be halted because elected officials act like bickering siblings and seek only to undermine the opposition. Healthcare is expensive, and merely shifting the financial responsibility around does not help. To make a lasting change providers and consumers must continue to adopt behaviors and technologies that can help them better manage their care. Remember that, at one time or another, we will all be caregivers or in need of one.
Use a Messaging App Safe for Healthcare Conversations
Don't accidentally give away your loved one's right to data privacy by using unsafe messaging apps. #caregiving #family. Learn more: http://care3.co/blog/hzFv8y.