Dignity Health and the University of California San Francisco Health are teaming up to create a new navigational platform for patients. The organizations are working to create a platform that will help walk patients through all different care settings including primary, acute and specialist care. 

“Our collaboration with Dignity Health will empower patients and their families with digital health care and connectivity, while simplifying the provider experience,” Shelby Decosta, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for UCSF Health, said in a statement. “Together with Dignity Health, we are opening new pathways for health care organizations to create a superior experience for their own patients and ultimately, for patients nationwide.”  

Dignity Health will bring its cloud-based infrastructure to the table, and UCSF Health will be able to advise on the patient experience and working with specialists, according to a statement. 

The partners plan to first create a web and mobile platform that is mobile-responsive and will employ machine learning and analytics. Eventually, the organizations plan on developing the platform so that it will be able to link patients with providers and information. 

“Dignity Health is pushing the boundaries of digital transformation and digital therapeutics across the continuum of care,” Dr. Shez Partovi, chief digital officer of Dignity Health, said in a statement. “We are committed to care for all, and are incorporating innovative digital experiences that are simple and enable patients to make better informed decisions about their health. This collaboration between UCSF and Dignity Health will set a new national standard for how patients should be supported through their digital health care journeys with intensely positive and personal experiences.” 

This isn’t UCSF’s first brush with digital. In February the provider announced that it was teaming up with Samsung Electronics to develop a research app called My BP Lab. The app will track users’ blood pressure and stress level while helping researchers collect the data. 

Dignity Health has also been making some big partnerships. In 2017, the company announced that it would expanding its partnership with InTouch Health. As part of that deal InTouch’s services were extended to Dignity’s acute care settings in post-acute and ambulatory facilities.