CommonSpirit Health at Home Reinvents Virtual Telehealth Monitoring and Medication Management to Protect Patients During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

Chicago, Ill.—April 29, 2020—In order to provide more personalized care for home-bound and high-risk patients, CommonSpirit Health at Home has expanded its virtual monitoring capabilities to better respond to patients’ needs during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Serving 140,000 of CommonSpirit’s patients in 10 states, Health at Home fast-tracked the launch of the telehealth tools not only to serve COVID-19 patients, but also for high-risk patients who are self-isolating so they have access to biomonitoring capabilities and a delivery service that sends pre-arranged medications.

Just as the U.S. begins to flatten the curve and the country looks to begin reopening in the coming weeks, the health needs of millions of Americans with chronic conditions could continue to strain the health care system. Many high-risk patients have sought to avoid exposure to COVID-19 by forgoing needed treatments for their disease states, thereby exacerbating their conditions during self-isolation. That’s why, more than ever, home-based remote monitoring is going to be an essential component of care.

“Not only does CommonSpirit Health at Home provide another layer of protection and defense to keep vulnerable patients safe, healthy, and in their homes during this pandemic, but it is also going to play a key role in preventing a post-COVID surge at care sites,” said Dan Dietz, CEO and President of CommonSpirit Health at Home. “When we saw COVID-19 on the horizon, we worked quickly to roll out our expanded tele-monitoring tools knowing that our normal methods of care would need to change. Now we can provide our patients and their loved ones with the peace of mind that their care can continue virtually and be safely managed while they are separated.”

Right now, many patients with chronic conditions are physically disconnected from their physicians and concerned about COVID-19 exposure if caregivers come into their home if it’s not absolutely necessary. Coupled with having less-frequent home visits, CommonSpirit Health at Home’s new connected services are providing a higher level of remote care with:

• Telehealth Biometric Monitoring – For patients looking to protect themselves by avoiding acute care facilities, a new mobile app, a voice platform, or a tablet provided by Health at Home remotely connects them with their clinician and caregivers. The technology tracks vital signs and a person’s disease-specific symptoms so their support team can collectively intervene in a timely manner to prevent exacerbation of the condition. The platform addresses additional care needs with automated medication alerts, voice calls sent at specific intervals, surveys of symptoms, and educational videos. Tablets are loaned to patients who would otherwise be unable to participate in remote monitoring.
  

• Medication Delivery and Management – As many high-risk or chronically ill patients avoid exposure to family members or friends who help set up their daily or weekly dosages, it can be challenging to adhere to a detailed regimen of multiple medications. Health at Home is addressing this need by delivering prepacked envelopes with the date and time of each dosage listed directly to patients’ homes. Their medications are regularly reviewed by a clinical pharmacist and the service also coordinates complicated prescription refills, which often come from multiple providers.
  

As care sites reopen, Health at Home’s virtual telehealth capabilities are going to be even more important to provide care for high acuity patients as they resume regular care for their chronic conditions. Usage of the virtual care services among early adopters since the launch in early April has increased among Health at Home patients.

Offering virtual services for Health at Home patients is also helping CommonSpirit keep its caregivers safe from community transition of COVID-19 and to better steward personal protective equipment (PPE). The tools also allow caregivers to remotely monitor patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 without risking transmitting the virus.

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About CommonSpirit Health at Home
CommonSpirit Health at Home, formerly CHI Health at Home, is a full-service health care organization that believes the best place for someone to get better, and faster, is in their own home. Providing quality home health care for over 40 years through specialized home care, home infusion, home respiratory care, hospice and medical transportation services, across the country, CommonSpirit Health at Home offers unique services dedicated to meeting the total needs of our patients.

Located in Milford, OH, CommonSpirit Health at Home has over 40 locations across 10 states, and nearly 3,000 associates who support our mission by creating and nurturing healthy communities across the nation. CommonSpirit Health at Home is proud to be part of CommonSpirit Health, the largest non-profit health care system in the country.

About CommonSpirit Health
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit Health is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2019, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of nearly $29 billion and provided $4.45 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs.
Learn more at www.commonspirit.org.