Technology is a central part of the Health TAPESTRY approach. It allows members of a person’s circle of care to easily share information and stay better engaged with their community. Health TAPESTRY technology resources are designed to work with the technology already in place at primary care sites without requiring any system upgrades.
The specific needs of each community guide which technologies are used in a local Health TAPESTRY project. Typical Health TAPESTRY sites use technology that works together like this:
- Before visiting a client, volunteers complete a training program. Part of that training program is available online through the Volunteer Learning Centre (VLC)
- When volunteers visit a client, they gather information about a person’s life, health and goals through a set of surveys. This is done with the TAP-App; a web-based survey tool accessed on a tablet. The TAP-App can be customized to match the needs of the community it is being used with.
- The answers a client gives on the TAP-App are automatically compiled as a TAP-Report. This report is uploaded to any type of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to be shared with the client’s health care team.
- A client may also have a Personal Health Record (PHR). PHRs can help Health TAPESTRY clients track their health and wellness journey. Clients can invite other people, such as their health care team or family members, to see what is in their PHR and help them track information about their health.
- During a visit, a volunteer can also share the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal as an online resource. This website has information for older adults about healthy, active, and engaged aging.
Volunteer Learning Centre
The Volunteer Learning Centre is a website used to train volunteers through a series of video and quiz modules. The VLC has four main parts:
- Learning Modules with instructional videos and quizzes on topics such as communication, safety, conflict resolution, mental health, and privacy
- Additional Resources to learn more about a topic
- Interactive Community Pages with discussion boards and the chance to connect with other volunteers and staff
- Account Dashboard to help track progress through the learning modules
Health TAPESTRY Application (TAP-App)
The Health TAPESTRY Application, also called the TAP-App, helps collect information about a person’s life, health, and goals by asking a series of questions. The TAP-App may ask questions about memory, sleep, eating, physical activity, medication, mobility and other topics that impact a person’s health.
The TAP-App can be used by volunteers to record how a client answers the questions, or it can be used directly by a client (with the support of volunteers) through an internet-enabled device (e.g. tablet, mobile device, home computer).
After going through all the questions, the TAP-App creates a summary report. This is called a TAP-Report and it can be sent to a client’s health care team by uploading it to an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system.
The Volunteer Management System (VMS) is a component of the TAP-App, which allows for scheduling and managing volunteers, by a Volunteer Coordinator.
Personal Health Records
A Personal Health Record, or PHR, is a secure online system that can help people track their health. PHRs make it possible for users to bring together their health information from their health care teams, support networks and other devices. This allows individuals to participate in their own health, while others can support them, such as family members, or members of their health care team.
Although the features of PHRs may vary, PHRs offer a place for clients to see information they request from their health care team, such as lab results or documents. Clients can also track information about their health, such as allergies, vaccinations, what they eat, or the number of steps they take in a day. PHRs allow clients to share their health information and send messages with others including their health care team andfamily members to help others better understand and support their health
McMaster Optimal Aging Portal
The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal has information for older adults about healthy, active and engaged aging. It has information for the general public, health care professionals and policy makers. All the information on the portal has been reviewed by experts to ensure that all information shared is high quality.
Research Findings
Lessons Learned Through Two Phases of Developing and Implementing a Technology Supporting Integrated Care: Case Study
Why did we do the study? The TAP-App is the custom-built internet-based application that is an integral part of Health TAPESTRY. The TAP-App allows volunteers to collection client information, helps the volunteer coordinators manage appointments, and allows the primary care teams to receive information about clients and request more information…
Feasibility study of goal setting discussions between older adults and volunteers facilitated by an eHealth application: Development of the Health TAPESTRY approach
Abstract Background In keeping with the changing needs of the Canadian population, primary care systems need to become more person-focused in providing quality care to older adults. As part of Health TAPESTRY, a complex intervention to strengthen primary care for older adults, a goal setting exercise was developed and tested…