Health

Centura Health combines RPM, Trolley, and Epic EHR to extend health remotely



For more than a century, Centura Health, based in Centennial, Colorado, has strived to define holistic care for people. The organization says it improves lives and strengthens communities by honoring mind, body and spirit equally.

What’s more, it says it understands how care is delivered is as meaningful as the care itself, which is why it listens and connects with every patient it serves.

PROBLEM

Centura Health had problems with its virtual care kit before COVID-19 first appeared in the US Like the rest of the healthcare industry, at the start of the pandemic, patient overload .

“Virtual care requires a new strategy to address interactivity, patient experience, provider experience and cost,” said Gerard Frunzi, director of virtual care at Centura Health. fee”. “Interoperability issues lead to many manual steps to get information between systems and completed tasks.

He continued: “The lack of user experience highlights the importance of easy-to-use telemedicine tools because it directly affects the effectiveness of health services. “Then and now, providers decide whether to accept telehealth as a service in their practice based on the physician’s experience. Traditional end-to-end providers in care Virtual squirrels were and still are expensive in the annual operating budget.”

Centura Health’s Epic electronic health record provides most of the features available for telemedicine services, so it eventually turned to Epic Video Client for virtual care.

Centura Health was awarded just over $997,000 in funding from the FCC for telemedicine. The funds are being used for two projects. Centura will complete the transition later this year. Telemedicine vehicles will migrate to Iron Bow, leveraging Cisco’s peripheral and remote patient systems. Supervision will move to the Rehabilitation Solution.

SUGGESTIONS

Frunzi explains that adapting new technology and features with the Epic EHR has created more efficient telehealth pathways.

“Services have transformed and, in some cases, medical procedures and workflows added,” he said. “Epic’s additional rollout of telemedicine features reduced errors. Some added features allow for more agile processes when technology breaks down.

He added: “For example, a patient having difficulty launching a video product on a computer could be sent a direct link to a smartphone for successful telemedicine.

Expanding the fleet of electric vehicles remotely and replacing legacy technology, he said, will meet significant demand in Centura Health’s system. The spike in COVID-19 has highlighted this lack of technology. Discharge support including delaying home care is another strategic need for care in general and for COVID-19 mutation management, he added.

MARKET

There are many providers of telemedicine technology and services in today’s medical IT market. IT news about healthcare published a special report highlighting many of these vendors with detailed descriptions of their products. Click here to read the special report.

MEET CHALLENGES ONLY

The FCC funding application and vendor selection process was carried out by Frunzi’s four-person team, clinical leadership, build and configuration IT vendors, and legal and regulatory staff. manage.

“An organization’s digital strategy is often tied to the capabilities of the EHR, and as that system has multiple features, it is constantly evolving,” notes Frunzi. “Epic regularly expands telemedicine features and functions. This is especially true in system integration for outpatient video.

He continued: “Features around orders, notes, and alerts have also expanded to support remote patient monitoring, inpatient treatment, and remote patient monitoring triggered from distant. “The remote tram works separately from the existing Epic, leveraging the same video product as our integrated phone system.”

Devices managed by Centura Health already have the precise tools to join the video cart and room system directly, reducing consultation coordination time in inpatient and ED facilities, he added. .

Centura Health is expanding its ministry with a new hospital, St. Francis InterQuest in Colorado Springs, designed as a hospital of the future. This project is separate from the FCC-funded project.

“The rich integration of the GetWell Network entertainment system with Epic and Cisco ExtendedCare of the new hospital will create advanced interoperability,” Frunzi said. “Each inpatient room and ED room will have its own dedicated video equipment on top of the entertainment TV.

“Providers and carers will be directly involved in the video making process through Epic, eliminating any need for on-site mobility of carts,” he added. “The solution also includes clinical interpretation, family-centered rounding and automated discharge assistance. The systemic innovation at St. Francis InterQuest extends far beyond virtual care services. “

RESULT

Centura Health has yet to roll out new telemedicine vehicles or completely replace its remote patient monitoring technology, so it has yet to record success metrics. The Patient Experience Survey Score is a fundamental measure of success for outpatient care.

“New features and services for home video conferencing have solved most of the problems that have arisen,” Frunzi reported. “We continue to improve these with interventions like self-help links in text message prompts to support patient self-service. Highlight automated technology testing to ensure Tell the video engine to see the camera, microphone, and speakers.

He continued: “Implementation of the new Epic dashboard feature has helped to provide advance alerts to the clinic when patients are late or haven’t watched the video before their video visit. “That dashboard feature also lets the clinic know when things are going well and the patient is waiting in the room. This allows clinics to focus a team member’s limited energy where it’s needed. necessary and know when it’s not.”

During the peak of COVID-19, most institutions peaked around March and May 2020, then dropped to the new normal over the past six months, he said.

“Centura is currently focusing on the past six months as a baseline to measure future intervention success based on patient experience and a mix of telemedicine services,” he explains. “This measure extends to inpatient counseling and ED. Reducing referrals and inpatient treatment is a planned measure that demonstrates the success of those programs in the future.”

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.

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