Insights: the Magnus Health Blog

One of the biggest challenges schools face at the beginning of each school year is tracking down parents and students to collect all of the required health forms and enrollment documents. Families go out of town for the Summer and rarely check their email, and on the off chance that they do open their Inbox - they sometimes skip right over the emails from their student’s school. No one wants to deal with scheduling physicals, filling out medication forms, and figuring out whether or not it’s been 9 or 10 years since their child’s last Tdap vaccination. In June, many schools mail the required health forms to the parents who are then responsible for sending back the completed paperwork in August. So many school packets end up misplaced over the long summer months! This makes complying with state requirements difficult for schools.

In honor of National Athletic Trainer month, Magnus would like to put the spotlight on all of the school Athletic Trainers out there! National Athletic Training Month is held every March in order to spread awareness about the valued work of the Athletic Trainers. They work hard to prevent athlete injuries as well as to treat them, and to make sure that the students recover and can get back on the field as quickly as possible.

Rounding out the Magnus Health Employee of the Quarter recipients for the year 2017, we’d like to recognize Candice, our Operations Coordinator. Candice is a jack of all trades. You can find her in all parts of the office lending a helping hand. She works closely with our Directors and Managers to keep the Magnus mission statement at the forefront of everything they do, while also coordinating Finance Operations and spearheading many other interdepartmental projects and meetings. Learn more about Candice from our conversation with her below!

Not only does Magnus have valuable team members across all departments, but our Directors keep Magnus growing and improving each week. This month, we’ve chatted with the Dynamic Duo - our Directors of the Sales and Marketing teams, Inese Hoover and Dino Skerlos.

Inese, our Marketing Director, keeps the team busy, but organized. While spreading the word about Magnus through multiple campaign channels, and bringing in leads from new schools, she keeps the team on their toes with fresh ideas for generating new business.

Dino, our Director of Sales, works with the Account Executives to show prospective clients the value of implementing the Magnus solution at their schools. Dino has already helped Magnus grow significantly in the short time he has been with the team.

**This blog post is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for legal advice.**

As a provider of the Student Health Record (SHR) solution for schools, our number one priority at MagnusHealth is the security of the Personal Health Information (PHI) that is collected and stored within our software. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and security of the personal information about our current and prospective users. This is why we’ve implemented, and continue to enhance, a comprehensive privacy program. This program includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that are appropriate and applicable to our company, and ensure the safety of our users’ data.

It’s that time of the year again! Enrollment season is here and it is important for schools to establish an easy, streamlined experience for parents and guardians to submit their student’s health forms.The key to this is an efficient communication between the school staff and parents about what forms are required and when they are due. This can help avoid any confusion and frustration during this busy time of the year. A great tool to keep parents informed about their student’s enrollment requirements and the approaching deadlines are email reminders. An online Student Health Record (SHR) solution such as Magnus, can streamline the form collection process for schools and save staff valuable time. This blog post will cover best practices on using parent email reminders and how they are successfully utilized by Magnus client schools.

Magnus Health - noun; MAG-nəs /helTH/

1. A one-of-a-kind cloud-based computer software that is the most innovative way to collect, track, and manage school health information.
2. A team of unique, hard-working individuals, who have a mutual passion to improve student health and safety so students can focus on learning.
3. A magnificent place to work.

When you pass by the Magnus Health office in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, you would not know that inside, there is a group of people who are committed to ensuring safety in schools throughout the nation. You also would not be able to guess the color of some of the interior walls... Anyone? Anyone? C’mon, they are painted bright orange, of course!

Not only does Magnus consist of valuable team members across all departments, but our Directors and Managers keep Magnus growing and improving week-in and week-out.

Our leadership team is made up of five dedicated, passionate, and professional Directors. With the start of 2018, we’ve decided to highlight them each so not only our wonderful customers, but everyone in our industry, can get to know them!

We will kick off the Magnus Leadership spotlight with our CEO, Brian Biddulph-Krentar. Brian currently resides in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and travels to the Raleigh Headquarters at least twice a month. Brian has been in the healthcare industry for quite some time. Actually, we’ll let him speak for himself! 

Educational institutions collect various types of sensitive information from students and employees. For students, personal identifiable information (PII), health records and, sometimes, parent credit card information is collected and stored in addition to their school performance records. Higher educational systems may be involved in research that is considered confidential and proprietary. Hackers generally target organizations where they may get the most personal health information (PHI). Healthcare and education are a prime target not only because they have a vast collection of PHI records, but also because they are known to have a weaker defense mechanism. That is the very reason why it is so vital for schools to evaluate the security vendor of the available Student Health Record (SHR) solution prior to making their purchasing decision.

Security is a process. It starts with identifying the sensitive information data set, its location, who should be authorized to access it, and how to best secure it based on the known threats. Security policies document these details and provide employees guidance on how to protect the private information. Then, it’s all about the execution and a life cycle of learning and improving.

Because schools are a common target for security breaches, it is vital for schools to have a detailed protocol in place. Following the set security processes that have been successfully implemented ensures that human error will not be the cause of a PHI leak or threat.

Schools deal with a variety of vendors and each vendor should be expected to have a security program in place. Just like the school itself, its vendors must protect the school’s data assets whether that’s from an external or internal threat. Here are some requirements schools should consider when selecting new SHR vendors:

Did you know that if a person has experienced a concussion in the past, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), they are 4x more likely to get another one at a later time? If you are a school nurse, an athletic trainer, or any staff member at a school, it is important to be educated on how to identify and manage concussion symptoms. So what is a concussion? It is a type of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. This fast movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells. 

According to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 329,290 children under the age of 19 are treated annually in the Emergency Room for sports and recreational-related injuries and concussions.¹ Recognition and an appropriate response when these types of injuries first occur can help speed up the recovery process and prevent further injury.

Have you ever been in a situation where a student gets injured at a school function and you realize that you don’t have their vital health information readily available? On average, schools report 9 emergencies a year making it increasingly important to have mobile access to student health data while on and off campus. The most effective way to ensure that an injured or sick child receives the best care possible is by providing authorized staff mobile access to student health records. When minutes matter, a mobile emergency app gives you and emergency responders immediate access to vital health information.