Top Takeaways
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Safety net health clinics are bringing the power of Bluetooth technology to their patients in the fight against high blood pressure, elevated glucose, and the battle of the bulge.
During the rapid pivot to telehealth visits during the pandemic, safety net clinics embraced simple, efficient, and cost-effective remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions to help serve high-risk patients managing chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Clinics are rolling out so-called "connected" tools for remote monitoring that are easy to use and allow patients to do routine health checks from the comfort and privacy of home. The data, thanks to the beauty of Bluetooth and other wireless tech, is automatically sent to the patients’ providers.
There's no relying on patient keeping a written record or remembering to send details to their doctor's office -- something that takes a lot of provider legwork out of the equation. Remote patient monitoring, as CCI reported last year, is a popular telemedicine innovation. With patients taking charge of their routine health checks outside the walls of traditional health settings, it has the potential to lower health care costs, improve chronic disease management, and reduce preventable trips to emergency departments. It’s been made possible with the relaxing of formerly restrictive Medicare rules, which have eliminated many barriers to such services. Federally qualified health centers (FQHC) have leaped at the opportunity to join the connected health party to better care for their vulnerable patients. Two health centers utilizing the latest in digital innovations in the health data collection field—Neighborhood Health Care and Northeast Valley Health Corporation—are members of a cohort exploring ways to deliver high quality, compassionate, and culturally sensitive virtual care that is accessible for all as part of CCI’s Connected Care Accelerator initiative, which includes 40 safety net clinics across California. RPM tools are especially important in diseases that require continuity of care and the consistent tracking of vital signs. “We’re using a small fraction of the services this robust software platform offers,” says Jeff Glenn, Neighborhood Health Care’s chief operating officer, of the product the center picked to partner with to do this work. “We are probably only using 50% of its functionality. We see a lot of potential here.”Real-Time Records
Neighborhood Health Care, an FQHC based in Escondido in Southern California, wanted to extend the virtual care solutions it was offering remote patients to support their efforts managing chronic conditions. Neighborhood annually serves 75,000 mostly Latino, low-income patients across San Diego and Riverside counties through 19 mainly urban clinic locations. During the pandemic Neighborhood Health Care has distributed blood pressure cuffs, glucose meters, computer tablets, and other home monitoring equipment to hundreds of high-risk patients and care team staff have trained them on how to use the devices. Neighborhood created videos for virtual instruction, conducted in-clinic training, and called on its remote services team to reach its most isolated patients.
Improving Health Care, One Vital Sign at a Time
As with every safety net clinic around the state, the COVID-19 crisis dramatically altered the delivery of care at Northeast Valley Health Corporation, a nonprofit organization and FQHC centered in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valley dedicated to providing sustainable health care for vulnerable Southern California communities. NEVHC provides over 320,000 annual health care visits for 73,050 patients at 14 clinics. While the pandemic pushed this provider and its care teams into adopting virtual care at a remarkable pace, one issue proved a persistent pain point: Obtaining blood pressure values and documenting blood pressure (BP) readings during virtual visits.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the way California delivers health care. Health care systems completely restructured their services to keep both their patients and employees safe. Federal policymakers acted quickly to expand coverage and payment for virtual care. The California Department of Health Care Services also dismantled previous barriers to telehealth and began requiring Medi-Cal managed care plans to pay providers for telephone and video visits at the same rate as in-person visits. As a result, many California health care providers rapidly pivoted from in-person visits to virtual patient visits. For these organizations, this shift has been transformational, as they’ve adopted new technology, overhauled workflows, and redefined team member roles. The Connected Care Accelerator -- a partnership between CCI and the California Health Care Foundation, with additional funding from the Blueshield of California Foundation -- selected 40 safety net healthcare centers in California to participate in a 12-month program that provided funding, methods, tools and hands-on technical assistance to enhance virtual care initiatives. In a series of case studies, CCI showcases the most sustainable and impactful solutions and shares advice for fellow safety net clinics who want to integrate similar virtual care strategies. |