On an episode of the Healthcare NOW Podcast, host, Dr. Nick van Terheyden, also known as Dr. Nick, delves into the critical issues facing health care professionals with Dominique Wells, chief operating officer at Conduit Health Partners, to shed light on the intricacies of running a health care company, the impact of the pandemic, and the importance of collaboration in problem-solving.
More health systems are looking to expand care options outside the four walls of the hospital, including remote patient monitoring and hospital-at-home programs.
Though Hospital at Home programs have been around for years, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated their adoption across the country to help ensure continuity of care amid rising infection rates. Since then, they’ve remained a valuable and effective option for patient care, improving patient outcomes and engagement.
Over the last two years, the U.S. healthcare system has worked around the clock to care for countless patients. The struggle has been intense, and hospitals and health systems nationwide have risen to the challenge.
Still, the heavy influx of patients resurfaced a long-standing problem. Healthcare disparities remain significant, drastically reducing access to quality care services for racial, ethnic and cultural minority groups.
Spurred by the COVID-19 crisis, nursing shortages and the incentive to avoid penalties, the industry became more innovative. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) programs pair wearable devices with telehealth response capability. These programs provide frequent patient monitoring without requiring in-person visits and tests – a capability that is especially important for those who live in remote areas, those with chronic conditions and those transitioning from hospital to home. Medical professionals can evaluate daily reports and reach out to those patients with immediate issues.
An innovator in the health care space, Conduit Health Partners’ use of data is a driving factor in helping to determine the correct type of care each patient should receive, when they should receive it, if that care is best delivered in the hospital or at home, and how that care will impact the bottom line for both the health care services provider and the patient.
A growing number of health systems, hospitals and other providers are turning to safe alternatives to traditional health care delivery. Remote patient monitoring services are not new, but the pandemic has accelerated interest and adoption of RPM services after COVID-19 presented various health and safety risks for in-person care. Remote patient monitoring services are growing in popularity, and they are becoming increasingly necessary amid pandemic challenges, staff shortages, high census and decreasing reimbursement.
Since 2020, the Covid-19 response has been a priority not only for healthcare organizations but for all organizations great or small. The need to ensure safety in the workplace has been a priority. Early in the pandemic, Conduit pivoted to support communities, health systems and employers. We offered information lines, participated in planning for hospital capacity management and load balancing, we created programs for vaccination supports as well as for the purpose of screening associated with the ability to return to work safely.
Virtual care — while not new prior to the pandemic — significantly increased in popularity as providers turned to safe alternatives for delivering health care amidst COVID-19. Virtual care is a broad term that encompasses many ways that health care providers and patients interact real-time through digital tools. Examples include care delivered via video, audio, remote monitoring, instant messaging, and more.
Conduit Health Partners partnered with a senior living community to virtually monitor residents’ temperatures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how we helped this facility more closely monitor their patients in this short case study.
