Healthcare Organizations Find New Ways to Collaborate and Care for Patients

Telemedicine and collaboration tools provide a massive opportunity to better coordinate patient care as well as expand healthcare access to many populations, from those who have difficulty traveling to underserved communities. However, for patients, there are still barriers to overcome. A recent PwC healthcare survey found that 4 in 10 consumers were hesitant to participate in virtual visits. And, for the uninsured, none reported attending a virtual visit in the past 12 months.

“Those with the greatest health challenges are the most likely to use the emergency department and the least likely to engage through technology or telehealth,” says Thom Bales, health advisory leader at PwC. “Although we’ve made significant strides with technology, we still have a gap there.”

Here’s how some health organizations are making progress.

Patients Benefit from At-Home, Post-Op Care

After Moffitt’s telehealth pilot using Zoom in 2019, the team there built a secure telehealth infrastructure using Zoom-based software, including Zoom Meetings, Zoom Team Chat and Zoom Webinars.

“We were already using Zoom as a collaboration tool within the organization, but we needed middleware to connect it to our electronic health records,” says Cristina Naso, senior director of virtual care and ambulatory operations at Moffitt.

The internal application development team created a solution that recognizes when a Zoom appointment is created. The system then automatically sends the appropriate notifications to both the provider and the patient.

“We’ve refined it since then and made all sorts of productivity dashboards for the virtual care team, but that middleware was key to unite our EHR with what Zoom had to offer,” Naso adds.

Moffitt staff members also use collaboration tools to communicate with each other.

“Using Zoom, we have really flattened the world for ourselves,” Naso says. “Even if the team is not all in the same place, we’re able to act like a physical clinic with a very quick response time.”

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of expanding its virtual care capabilities is that more patients who may not live close to Moffitt are able to receive advanced cancer care through a combination of in-person and telemedicine visits.

“A lot of our post-op care is done by Zoom these days,” says Spiess. “Patients can get their surgical care, and, provided they don't have any significant concerns, they can have a post-operative touchpoint from their homes. That has been a huge satisfier for patients and families while also allowing us to deliver care across the state.”

Collaboration Hardware Enhances Healthcare Teamwork

Another cancer facility, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, located in Richmond, Va., uses Zoom and Microsoft Teams with advanced audiovisual systems in multiple conference rooms for meetings, classes and clinical presentations.

While all of the conference rooms include high-resolution touch screens for collaboration, the three rooms with the giant Planar LED video walls provide the most immersive experience for both live and virtual attendees. The largest video wall is 136 inches across (about 10 feet) and 5.5 feet high. Two other rooms each have 108-inch LED video walls (about 8 feet) that are 4.5 feet high.

The high-resolution video walls are ideal for sharing images of cancer cells, X-rays and MRIs. One computer in the room controls the lighting, the interface with the video wall and even the window coverings. Another one is used by meeting leaders to present on the screen or open a discussion.

Tyler Moats, an IT analyst with Massey, explains some of the other technologies in the conference room.

READ MORE: How does a managed services provider solve collaboration challenges?

“Anyone at the podium can use their own laptop or the built-in room PC to control what is seen on the screen. We can even hook up a microscope to the system,” he says. “We recently installed a Shure ceiling array microphone, which captures sound in the room much better than individual microphones. During a discussion, the microphone will detect who is speaking, and a camera will automatically focus on that person, so people are seamlessly communicating and collaborating in real time.”

The video walls are also easier to maintain than the old projector-based technology or the more recent LCD screens.

“In the past, if you got a dead pixel on a TV, that TV was trash. The Planar screens are made of panels. If there’s a problem, you pull the panel out and replace it. You don’t need to throw the whole thing away.”

Virtual Care Tools Expand Access to Quality Care

HealtheMed, based in Minneapolis, is a public benefit corporation that relies on a hybrid approach, providing in-person and virtual care to individuals who are eligible for at-home services through the state’s Medicaid waiver program.

“We empower patients to take control of their health at home before it progresses into illness,” says Wendy Cutting, vice president of product and engineering at HealtheMed. “Our top goals are to help patients adhere to their medications and avoid emergency department visits.”

Through the company’s Clinic@Home program, each patient receives a 50-inch Sony BRAVIA display. In addition to serving as a smart television, the Sony display runs the Clinic@Home application, which was designed to be as easy to use as a typical entertainment streaming applications such as Netflix. The app tracks medication compliance and collects data from connected remote patient monitoring devices such as thermometers, pulse oximeters, weight scales and blood pressure cuffs. The TV application also streams health videos to increase education and awareness. All these data points contribute to a health score, which is visible to patients as and their care teams at HealtheMed.

“Our nurses proactively reach out to their clients when their health scores dip below set thresholds,” Cutting says. “For example, if we have a patient that hasn’t taken their medication for two days, a nurse will reach out to the patient directly.”

“Our patients take their health scores seriously. It’s the central feature of the TV app, and they’ve transformed it into a personalized health game,” she adds.

The company is currently developing a mobile phone and tablet application and piloting its care approach in nearby states. With just over 400 clients, HealtheMed has maintained a 97% renewal rate and a sharp reduction in ER visits. On average, Medicaid-waivered patients in Minnesota visit the ER eight to 10 times per year. Patients using Clinic@Home, average one visit per year.