Building Patient Engagement with HRS Telehealth and RPM
Engaged patients are more likely to be proactive in their health management and to understand their condition. They are more likely to make the necessary behavior changes to positively impact their quality of life.
Engaging the Patient from the Start of the Telehealth Program
Installation
The provider and patient work together to create meaningful goals and discuss how telehealth will support the patient.
Engagement
The patient self-manages their health by engaging with telehealth tools like symptom surveys, custom education, and virtual visits.
Behavior Change
Telehealth helps the patient build new healthcare management routines, resulting in lasting behavior change.
“The sky's the limit for the diseases that we can help a patient learn how to manage.”
— Ann Hall, Virtual Care and TeleMed Manager at 3HC
The Critical Nature of the Installation Visit
Patient engagement, experience, and outcomes are largely dependent upon the patient’s introduction to telehealth and RPM. For many organizations, this introduction occurs during the installation visit. The more clearly patients understand what the program is, why they are being enrolled, and how the technology works, the more likely they are to reach their goals—and the more likely the organization is to achieve its goals.
Improving Health Outcomes with Biometric and Symptom Monitoring
Biometric and symptom monitoring are critical elements to a robust telehealth program, and to the individual success of telehealth patients. For patients, recording vital signs and symptoms daily helps them learn about their condition and how their condition relates to their vitals, their medications, and how they feel each day.
For clinicians, biometric data and symptom surveys are used to inform care planning, build trends throughout recovery, and potentially identify exacerbations. HRS’ ClinicianConnect platform provides clinicians with a centralized patient management portal to review and triage patient data.
In the US, approximately 60% of older Americans do not take their medications as prescribed. Medication non-adherence is a key concern among health care providers as it continues to drive hospitalizations and cost of care.
Many patients, particularly chronic care patients or those with multiple comorbidities, feel overwhelmed by their medication regimens or do not understand the relationship between their medications and their overall health. Medication reminders help patients stay on track with their medications, enabling clinicians to monitor medication compliance, pinpoint potential side effects, and adjust medication regimens as needed.
Building Long Term Engagement with Educational Resources
Education empowers patients, ensuring long term improvement in their health and quality of life.
Telehealth allows clinicians to consistently deliver education to patients, incorporating disease-specific educational materials into patient care plans. HRS’ PatientConnect platforms provide patients and caregivers with zone tools, educational videos, and teach-back quizzes to test patients’ knowledge and understanding.
Cindy was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) two years ago after being admitted to the hospital with shortness of breath, swelling in her ankles and feet, and an irregular heartbeat.
Following her most recent hospitalization, Cindy was enrolled in home health care and the telehealth and remote patient monitoring program (RPM) offered by her provider. With the support of telehealth, Cindy is able to engage in her care and learn about her condition.
9:00 AM
Medication Reminder
Cindy receives a reminder on the telehealth tablet to take her morning medications as prescribed by her doctor. Cindy records taking her medications on the tablet provided.
10:00 AM
Biometric and Symptom Monitoring
Cindy receives a reminder for each vital sign that she is required to record during her telehealth enrollment, including her blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and blood oxygen level. Cindy uses Bluetooth monitoring devices to record her vital signs on the tablet.
As part of her customized care plan, Cindy is asked to answer four questions each day about her symptoms and how she feels.
12:00 PM
Medication Reminder
Cindy receives a second medication reminder, asking her to take her medication with a snack or her afternoon meal.
1:45 PM
Education Video
Cindy’s clinician sends her a text message through the telehealth platform, reminding her to review the educational resources available to her.
Using the tablet, Cindy views a short video about her CHF symptoms and answers quiz questions following the video to demonstrate all she has learned.
2:00 PM
Virtual Visit
To support her through recovery, Cindy has a weekly virtual visit with her nursing team to help review her medications, discuss her symptoms, and talk through the educational video Cindy watched before her visit. Cindy uses her tablet to connect virtually with her care team.
Cindy’s nurse records any clinical notes and follow-up tasks within HRS’ ClinicianConnect platform, allowing information to sync with her organization’s EMR, accessible to all of Cindy’s care providers.
6:00 PM
Medication Reminder
Cindy receives a third medication reminder, asking her to take her medication with a snack or her evening meal.
