COVID-19 Response Resource Center: Timely Counsel for your Business

This article is part of a series in which Brooks Pierce highlights clients that are going above and beyond to help combat the effects of the COVID-19 crisis in their communities.

Lithios, a Raleigh-based mobile application design company, develops creative, cutting-edge apps for companies ranging from local start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. However, when Triad Health Network (THN) approached them in mid-March to develop an app to help streamline COVID-19 communications across its offices, Lithios saw a unique opportunity to use its skills to serve the community.

THN had noticed that its current methods of communicating with its providers were not getting information to them quickly enough, especially as the number of COVID-19 positive patients in North Carolina rose. They needed a way to streamline communications and get up-to-the-minute information into providers’ hands as quickly as possible. Lithios’ Senior Technology Director, Brendan Michaelsen, developed a set of requirements for the project, came up with a game plan, and had a basic app for Android and iOS with a corresponding web component created in less than two weeks, at least half the amount of time typically needed for such a project.

“No one knew what COVID was going to bring, and we wanted to support the health care system by getting something beneficial to their providers as soon as possible,” said Kyle Linton, Operations Manager at Lithios. “With the technology expertise of our team, we saw the opportunity to leverage our skills to create something necessary in a time of need, and give back to the hundreds of health care providers serving this community.”

Currently, the app uses push notifications to immediately notify providers, staff, and stakeholders about updates in best practices, inventory and orders of personal protective equipment (PPE), payment based updates to patients’ health care plans, a directory with quick options for contacting personnel, and relevant information about positive COVID-19 cases within the health network. It also provides a platform for hosting “town hall” style meetings for the public, in which the organization explains what it is doing to combat the influx of positive cases.

Michaelsen stated that he was especially motivated to finish the project quickly due to personal impacts from COVID-19. He credits his team with a successful launch in record time, noting with pride that the company did not have to sacrifice technology, infrastructure, or security in order to meet their ambitious deadline. Both he and Linton hope that this project is the beginning of a long-standing relationship with THN, and that the COVID-19 related app that Lithios built can be expanded into a comprehensive communications management program for the health care system.

Brooks Pierce is proud to serve businesses like Lithios, who are using their time, energy and resources to serve their communities in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

For more information on Lithios’ technology solutions, visit lithiosapps.com.