How Virtual Care Enables Modernization of Healthcare Service Delivery
Author: Mike Brandofino, President and COO, Caregility
We are at a watershed moment in modern medicine that is fundamentally changing healthcare delivery. The line between bedside care and virtual care has evaporated to the point where it is just healthcare.
What may appear to be a sudden shift towards acceptance of hybrid care models because of the pandemic has been years in the making and can be traced to the early days of tele-ICU pioneered by Philips Healthcare and health systems like Mercy Virtual, which built the nation’s first virtual care hub with six floors of clinical specialists in a building with no patients. Their sole focus was to provide remote care to ICU patients around the country.
What’s transformational about where we are now is the rapid expansion of virtual care beyond specialty units like tele-ICU and tele-stroke to dozens of additional clinical workflows that enable clinical innovation across the entire care continuum, including hospital-at-home initiatives.
A McKinsey and Company report from this past June, “Digital transformation: Health systems’ investment priorities,” describes this shift to a hybrid care delivery model that blends virtual and in-person engagement. Virtual care was cited as the leading investment priority and the second biggest area of potential impact by healthcare executives.
Telehealth and telemedicine have a long legacy as a safety net for hospitals, supporting care delivery during the pandemic and in ICUs before that. It continues to enable synchronous and asynchronous outpatient and behavioral health visits. We’re now seeing virtual care being threaded into processes throughout acute care, creating a secondary layer of remote clinical defense that enhances clinical collaboration to modernize inpatient care.
Telehealth Enters the Hybrid Care Era
Kourtney Matlock, president of Arkansas-based Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute, sums up the current inflection point in care model innovation nicely, saying “Embracing virtual support as part of our acute care bedside support and quality strategy signifies a pivotal step forward in how we envision the future of healthcare.”
After a tumultuous five years for healthcare organizations, hybrid care models are bringing welcome change. Virtual nursing programs are helping hospitals offset burnout, turnover, and reliance on travel nurses, bringing workforce costs down.
Additionally, virtual sitter programs are helping health systems cost-effectively amplify the reach of patient safety teams. Most importantly, the addition of remote care support in acute hospital settings is helping healthcare organizations better coordinate care, intervene earlier, and improve patient safety and outcomes.
Collaborative Care Teams
Virtual engagement at the hospital bedside is elevating patient and staff satisfaction. In hybrid care models like virtual nursing, bedside and remote caregivers work in tandem to support patient care. That approach enables care teams to redistribute tasks like admissions, discharges, patient education, and more to remote nurses, which poses several interesting benefits.
Patients are building stronger bonds with their care team because of the uninterrupted nature of video-based engagement. One leading Florida-based health system saw a 20 percent improvement in patient HCAHPS scores, thanks to better communication in its virtual nursing pilot program. Enhanced communication and patient education – including the ability to bring family caregivers and interpreters into care planning virtually – supports better patient outcomes.
Collaborative hybrid care models give bedside teams valuable time back through task redistribution. With the average age and experience of bedside nurses dropping, programs like virtual nursing also help expand the reach of experienced nurse resources to support remote coaching and mentoring of less-experienced bedside clinicians. This trend is extending the careers of seasoned nurses and is a model that could help health systems weather future patient surges without having to resort to the expense of traveling nurse models, as they did during the pandemic.
Care teams are finding that an “every bed” approach to remote care enablement not only drives patient and staff satisfaction but also creates an infrastructure that health systems can use as a springboard for field testing new solutions that augment the information available to clinical teams.
Telehealth edge devices make it easy for healthcare organizations to tap into audio and video feeds in the patient room to enhance the clinical insight available to staff. Providers can layer in solutions like augmented observation to help monitor for patient safety threats, contactless monitoring to trend patient vital signs, and ambient listening to support clinical documentation.
The integration of these solutions into Intelligent Hospital Room initiatives amplifies the information available to caregivers, stretching what they can do. In these use cases, virtual care platforms and integrated sensors become additional members of the care team, continuously capturing and analyzing actionable data that caregivers can use to save time, intervene more quickly, and improve patient outcomes.
An Integrated Ecosystem
Artificial intelligence solutions represent just one of many enabling tools in emerging hybrid care models. Pioneering health systems are integrating enterprise telehealth solutions with additional enabling technologies to further future-proof care models in their Hospital Room of the Future strategy.
Peripheral tools that amplify clinical insight. The integration of remote monitoring solutions, clinical decision support tools, and third-party connected devices like digital stethoscopes are helping care teams remotely capture additional insights that drive clinical action.
Smart room design that meets evolving patient expectations. Integration with in-room resources like interactive patient consoles enables health systems to use existing resources to support remote engagement at every bedside. This keeps implementation costs and complexity down while modernizing care rooms to meet evolving expectations.
Service integration that ensures equitable care. Integration with remote, third-party clinical services helps ensure patient access to specialists, regardless of where they’re located, which is essential in rural areas where clinical resources are limited. Integrated interpreter services help health systems further address social determinant of health barriers and meet language access requirements, using two-way video to support communication for the deaf and patients with limited English proficiency.
These are just a few of the ways healthcare organizations are improving care quality for patients and saving time for clinical teams by integrating remote care at the bedside. The industry is pivoting from an “either/or” approach to telehealth to a more holistic era of hybrid care innovation that integrates in-person and virtual engagement throughout the patient journey.
By blending remote support into patient care delivery, hospitals are creating a new care standard that delivers a consistent, technology-enabled experience across the entire ecosystem – from the ambulatory setting through inpatient admissions to the home.
Telehealth has become an essential tool in modern healthcare, offering unprecedented access to medical services across various specialties. The technology is particularly transformative in pediatric care, where the unique needs of young patients and their families present both challenges and opportunities for innovative care solutions.
From remote consultations with specialists to virtual family visits in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), telehealth is helping to bridge gaps in care and provide timely, effective medical support. This article explores pediatric use cases for telehealth, highlighting how virtual care supports access to specialists, family engagement, mental health, school-based health programs, and chronic condition management for young, vulnerable patients. We also delve into research findings to understand the efficacy and impact of telehealth interventions in children’s healthcare.
Remote Access to Pediatric Specialists
One of the most significant advantages of telehealth in pediatric care is its ability to connect children with specialized medical expertise, regardless of the patient’s geographic location. For families living in rural or underserved areas, telehealth allows children to receive expert care without long-distance travel. This is particularly crucial during acute care scenarios, such as pediatric emergencies, where timely access to a specialist can be life-saving.
On-site care teams can engage remote pediatric specialists for quick diagnosis, observation, and treatment of conditions. For example, children with congenital heart disease can have their echocardiograms reviewed by pediatric cardiologists in real-time, allowing for swift diagnosis and treatment planning. Similarly, children with neurological disorders can undergo remote assessments, enabling specialists to monitor their condition and adjust treatment plans without requiring frequent in-person visits.
Virtual Family Visits in the NICU
The NICU is an emotionally charged environment where the presence of family is impactful. Telehealth plays a pivotal role in supporting family-centered care in the NICU by enabling virtual visits for families. When patient families cannot be physically present due to work commitments or visitation constraints, parents can connect with their newborns and the medical team via secure video calls.
These virtual visits are more than just a convenience—they are essential for family bonding and reducing the stress of having a child in the NICU. Integrating telehealth into NICU care plans allows parents to be involved, ask questions, and receive real-time updates, enhancing the overall experience for the infant and the family.
Telehealth for Pediatric Mental Health
With a shortage of pediatric mental health service providers, mental health care for children and adolescents is another area where telehealth is making a significant impact. For adolescents, in particular, telehealth offers an additional layer of privacy and comfort, making it easier for them to seek help without the stigma that might be associated with in-person visits.
Research has shown that virtual mental health services are as effective as traditional face-to-face therapy for pediatric patients. The flexibility of telehealth allows for more consistent therapy sessions. The enhanced convenience of telehealth services can also lead to better adherence to treatment plans and improved mental health outcomes.
School-Based Telehealth Services
Schools are increasingly becoming hubs for telehealth services, providing on-site care for common ailments and chronic conditions. School-based telehealth programs are a vital resource for students, particularly those who may not have easy access to healthcare outside of school. By partnering with healthcare providers, schools can offer a range of telehealth services, from routine check-ups to specialized care, directly on campus.
The impact of these programs is significant. Allowing students to receive care without leaving school helps reduce absenteeism. It also supports students with chronic health conditions by providing regular monitoring and quick access to care when needed.
Remote Monitoring of Diseases and Conditions
Telehealth is also invaluable in managing care for children with chronic conditions, cancers, special needs, and more. For diagnoses such as asthma, diabetes, and cancer, telehealth offers a convenient way for families to stay connected with their healthcare providers. Remote monitoring tools enable regular virtual check-ins, medication adjustments, and management of symptoms without the need for frequent in-person visits.
This is particularly beneficial in instances where physical disabilities limit the child’s or the family’s ability to travel or for those living far from specialized care centers. Telehealth supports more frequent touchpoints between on-site visits, ensuring that children receive continuous, comprehensive care tailored to their needs.
What the Research Tells Us
Studies point to promising results regarding the efficacy of telehealth in neonatal and pediatric care. The SPROUT (Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth)-CTSA (Clinical Translational Science Awards) Collaborative Telehealth Research Network is at the forefront of much of the research exploring how telehealth impacts children’s health outcomes, particularly in acute care settings.
Along with SPROUT, other notable organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Telemedicine Association also support the advancement of telehealth in pediatric care through research and special interest groups. These efforts are crucial as the healthcare community continues to explore the potential for integrating AI and machine learning into remote care models, offering even more personalized and efficient care for children.
Looking Ahead
While challenges such as technology access, the digital divide, and privacy concerns remain, the benefits of telehealth’s use in pediatric care far outweigh the drawbacks. By continuing to invest in children’s telehealth, we can ensure that every child has access to the specialized care they need.
As researchers framed it in their assessment of Telemedicine Across the Continuum of Neonatal-Perinatal Care, “Moving forward, it is imperative to build on the progress made in the field of telemedicine. Retreating to pre-pandemic use would be an unfortunate lost opportunity to improve delivery of perinatal and neonatal care.”
Caregility Releases First Edge-Based Computer Vision AI Capability for Healthcare
Caregility eliminates reliance on expensive cloud processing for computer vision application
Wall, NJ (August 13, 2024) – Caregility Corporation, an enterprise telehealth leader dedicated to connecting care for patients and clinicians everywhere, is excited to announce the release of new fall risk detection capability in its iObserver solution. Hospital care teams use iObserver for continuous observation of patients at risk of self-harm or falls. The new artificial intelligence (AI) capability, developed natively by Caregility, uses computer vision to analyze visual information, detect fall risks, and alert caregivers accordingly.
The Caregility platform allows AI technology to run entirely on telehealth edge devices in the patient room, eliminating the need to stream patient audio-visual data to the cloud. This approach ensures cost-effective, scalable solutions across thousands of rooms where Caregility endpoints are available today. Other comparable technologies face challenges related to bandwidth for video streams and the processing power needed to scale across numerous rooms. Most importantly, this purposeful application of computer vision technology underscores Caregility’s commitment to responsible AI, as visual data is processed locally, safeguarding data protection and privacy.
“Our open and adaptable platform allows us to develop native AI capabilities when possible while also evaluating other third-party solutions to determine if they can add value to caregivers’ workflows,” said Kedar Ganta, Caregility’s Chief Product and Engineering Officer. “This flexibility keeps us at the forefront of AI advancements without being locked into a single solution.”
“We’re redefining the future of telehealth with AI-powered edge computing,” said Bin Guan, Caregility’s Chief Innovation Officer. “By breaking down traditional barriers to AI adoption, we’re enabling healthcare providers to leverage cutting-edge technology without sacrificing operational efficiency or data privacy.”
“This breakthrough in AI at the edge is confirmation of Caregility’s ability to innovate,” added Mike Brandofino, Caregility’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “At the same time, no company can provide all the technology required to deliver on the modernization of care. Caregility remains committed to integrating with other AI technology partners where it makes sense in order to bring value and flexibility to our customers. This ultimately provides them with a foundational platform they can build on for the foreseeable future.”
Caregility’s computer vision capability is available to be used on every one of the more than 15,000 Caregility edge devices currently installed in hospitals around the globe. This is a testament to the value and durability of Caregility’s purpose-built devices, called Access Point of Care Systems (APS). The first APS system ever deployed by the company is still running after six and half years in continuous operation, proving that choosing Caregility means that health systems will have a future-proof solution that can adapt as new technology is introduced.
“Our approach to AI involves understanding the challenges our customers face and then identifying where technology can play a role,” said Ganta. “We believe that combining our video AI and audio AI with specialized third-party solutions, such as contactless vitals tracking, can provide caregivers with valuable insights to improve patient outcomes. By leveraging our edge devices and avoiding the challenges of cloud-based AI, we can achieve faster and more accurate results with our proprietary technology.”
About Caregility Caregility Corporation is dedicated to connecting patients and clinicians everywhere with its Caregility Cloud™ virtual care platform. Awarded the Best in KLAS Virtual Care Platform (non-EMR) in 2021, 2022, and 2023, Caregility Cloud™ powers a purpose-built ecosystem of enterprise telehealth solutions across the care continuum. Caregility provides secure, reliable, and HIPAA-compliant audio and video communication designed for any device and clinical workflow in both acute and ambulatory settings. Today Caregility supports more than 1,100 hospitals across over 85 health systems with over six million virtual care sessions hosted annually. From critical and acute, to urgent and emergent, to post-acute and ambulatory, as well as hospital-at-home, Caregility is connecting care everywhere. Follow Caregility on LinkedIn and Twitter at @caregility.
Virtual Care’s Impact on Patient and Staff Experience with Christine Coriell from OhioHealth
Digital Health Frontiers – Podcast Ep. 4
Christine Coriell, MHA, BSN, RN-BC Director of System Nursing Operations, OhioHealth
Mike Brandofino President and COO Caregility
In this episode of the Digital Health Frontiers podcast, Caregility President and COO Mike Brandofino sits down with Christine Coriell, MHA, BSN, RN-BC, Director of System Nursing Operations at OhioHealth, to explore virtual care’s impact on patients and staff experience. Christine, who has extensive experience in nursing leadership, shares insights into OhioHealth’s innovative virtual care initiatives, including their Virtual Nurse program, designed to enhance patient care and alleviate the pressures on clinical staff.
Mike and Christine delve into the challenges and successes of implementing virtual acute care programs, the strategies OhioHealth uses to maintain patient satisfaction in a virtual care environment, and the critical role that experienced nurses play in mentoring newer staff. They also discuss the future of inpatient care settings, touching on the potential of AI and technology to further transform patient care delivery. Tune in to learn how OhioHealth is pioneering new approaches in virtual care to support both patients and staff experience.
Read the Transcript
Welcome to Digital Health Frontiers, where we explore the cutting edge of healthcare technology, policy, and innovation, hosted by Mike Brandofino, President and COO of Caregility. In this episode, Mike sits down with Christine Coriell, the Director of System Nursing Operations at OhioHealth. In her role, Christine oversees strategic planning, development, and budget analysis of the health system’s centralized Flex Teams, Internal Travel Team, System Staffing Office, Virtual Patient Observation, and Virtual Nurse Program. As part of the Staffing & Capacity Logistics Team she is accountable for metric analysis, collaboration, and system support for improved patient flow and operations. In partnership with Workforce Planning and key stakeholders, Christine is also responsible for the evaluation and recommendation of various expansion efforts throughout the system. Her experience gives her keen insight into the impact that virtual care initiatives are having on patient and staff experience, which she and Mike dive into today.
Mike Brandofino:
Hi everybody. It’s Mike Brandolino with Caregility. I’m here with Christine Coriell, the Director of Nursing Operations at OhioHealth. Thank you for joining, Christine.
Coriell, Christine:
Hi Mike, thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
Brandofino:
One of the things we want to cover today is really the impact of virtual care on both the patients and the staff. Maybe we can kick it off with an overview of what OhioHealth has been doing as it relates to virtual care.
Coriell:
Yeah, so from a virtual care perspective, OhioHealth has many different teams, and we’ve really developed a lot of different workflows within that. For example, we have an eICU team. We also have a PSU team – that’s our Perinatal Support Unit. Neither of those teams roll up through me, but those are both teams that provide virtual services. From my structure and my accountabilities, we also have Virtual Patient Observation – so that’s those, e-sitters that sit in an administrative building to watch patients at all of our different care sites for a variety of reasons. It will exclude any patients that are there for suicide or homicidal ideations, but outside of that, we really see a wide variety of patients and reasons for having that additional set of eyes.
And then lastly, we also have our Virtual Nurse Program. So this is something that really started, gosh, almost two years ago, where we were sitting down to explore, you know, what can virtual nursing look like at OhioHealth? What do we want it to look like? What do our associates and what do our patients need this program to look like? So, we did a pilot program for about 9 or 10 months and then last December, December of 2023, is when we did go live with this program. Currently, we have it at one of our care sites. We started that program with this new care site, so when the care site opened, day one is when we started with virtual nursing as well. So, it’s been a very exciting program. A lot of things we have seen change based on the needs, again, of the associates and also our patients.
Brandofino:
Sure. And speaking about patients — you know, a couple of years ago, there was a lot of talk about the depersonalization of care if you’re using virtual care. Did you focus on patient satisfaction as part of this effort?
Coriell:
Yes, we absolutely did. You know, when we think of nursing in general, it’s certainly a combination of art and science, and we really don’t want to disrupt the human touch that we have in healthcare. That’s why many of us chose to become nurses and why we want to be nurses, so we can interact with those patients. So, from a virtual nurse perspective, when we were hiring and talking with candidates, we were really looking for something that we now call “webside manner.” We know it can be hard, at times, to connect with patients and even more so when we’re over a camera. And just like you said, we don’t want to lose that touch. So, we wanted to make sure that they have that. Ultimately any program that we’re looking at at OhioHealth, we need to factor and evaluate if we want to move forward and one of those things we talked through is how will this impact patients and patient satisfaction. And, so, this program was no different.
Brandofino:
Great. So how do you measure that? Is there a formal process? Do you do end-of-stay surveys? How’s that done?
Coriell:
Yeah. To measure patient satisfaction, we certainly think through and get those evaluations from Press Ganey, from HCAHPS. We really analyzed nurse communication. Up until this point, some of it has been hard to evaluate whether it was the virtual nurse program that positively impacted that. A lot of it is anecdotal data. But what we are going to see moving forward, and I think just two weeks ago we started, now a question is going to be going to the patients that asks if they saw a virtual nurse. If they say yes, they will then be asked about the overall rating of the virtual nurse interaction or contact. So that will be feedback about their hospital experience and valuable information that we can use to better tailor this program. OhioHealth leaders also have accountability for leader rounding. So, what that means is 100% of patients should be rounded on every single day. With that, the unit managers can get real-time feedback and have those real-time interactions, and from that, they’re able to coach and/or discuss certain things with our associates. Ultimately, we want to ensure our patients are satisfied they’re getting their questions answered. So, leader rounding can provide that real-time alteration of what needs to happen with the patient’s day.
Brandofino:
That’s great. It’s interesting – a couple of our customers have experienced a huge uptick in the [patient satisfaction] scores. Like you said, it’s kind of anecdotal, but they’re trying to create the right metrics to capture as well. What we heard from them were things like you’re not getting the pull, the soft shoulder pull that the floor nurses get, so they’re able to spend a little bit more concerted time getting to know the patient and interacting with the patient.
We heard some really great examples of nurses taking a little extra time because they heard the prognosis that the patient got, it’s unfortunate, and they spent more time. We even heard of one nurse driving in to sit with the patient for a little while. But those scores are really important. And I’m going to say the sad part because this is what I’m hearing — it’s a soft dollar gain and, unfortunately, you know, CFOs don’t necessarily care about that. But it sounds like OhioHealth does care about patient satisfaction. And does that play into it all? What’s your experience been as far as those scores?
Coriell:
Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s important to take a step back and really see, why did we want to do the virtual nurse program in the first place? So, we had specific problems to solve when we think about nursing in general, not only in Ohio, but nationwide, We know we have a lot of staffing shortages that will really just increase over the next few years. And with that, we’re also seeing nurses with a lot less experience. So, with our virtual nurse program, we were specific on what we were looking for with those nurses.
For our program specifically, the average amount of tenure with those nurses is 12 years and we know that can provide a lot of valuable information to the associates and also patients from an experience standpoint. We also know just in general the burnout of the clinical staff, the overwhelming first year, the amount of information nurses need to know, delayed documentation, fractured communication, and also overall workflow inefficiencies – all of that can lead to a decreased patient satisfaction.
We see in any three-month time frame we have about 1,200-1,400 patients that are seen by the Virtual Nurse Program. And again, this is just one care site right now, and even more interactions with that. When we first rolled out the program, it was a one-way street is what I like to say. So, it was the virtual nurses that had to make contact with the patients. Now the patients are able to make contact with the virtual nurse, so it’s really at their fingertips to get questions answered, to have some more of that emotional support if they need, to provide education not only to the patient, but also to the patient’s family members. And we know all of that will increase overall patient satisfaction.
Brandofino:
Have you gotten any pushback from patients on this model?
Coriell:
Well, certainly anything that’s different, we will always get some pushback. Some patients think that somebody’s watching them or they’re worried that somebody’s watching them or listening to them all the time. So, what we have done and what we’re continuing to improve on is when the patients first get hospitalized, they should understand what our program is. So, just like another nurse physically coming into a patient room, a virtual nurse is there to provide support, just in a different way. So, we found that as long as that is described to the patient and they know what to expect, that can really reduce anybody not wanting those services. If we just act like it’s another person in the care team – because that’s what they are- we get very few patients who don’t want to have that service.
Brandofino:
Sure. Yeah, I would imagine that would be the case. So, you talked a little bit about the staffing model that you use. One of the things that we saw that, again, I don’t know if it was a planned benefit, but it certainly worked. Two things one of our other customers did – one was they cycled the floor nurse. They kept it as a team. So, they cycled the floor nurse through that Virtual Nursing Program, as well as having dedicated tele-nurses. And then, the other side benefit was that some nurses that could no longer work the floor due to physical issues were able to extend their careers and keep that knowledge in the health system for helping those less experienced nurses. Is that the same thing that you saw?
Coriell:
So, to touch on the first one, you had talked about really a hybrid model – those virtual nurses work in the virtual space and then also in the care site. Up until this point, we have not done that. However, it’s something that we’re thinking about doing. I know some other healthcare systems do it, and we also have some of our virtual nurses who have expressed interest in wanting to work in the care site. We know that will just strengthen the relationships and have a better understanding of what a patient is experiencing on the floor. So, that’s something that we’re looking into moving forward as we open the program to other care sites. We want to do a few different things. So, we’ll keep the FTE where it is, but do we want to split the FTE, or do we want to make a second position where that nurse can work in the care site? But yes, overall we want to be able to employ that model as well.
Brandofino:
Part of that leads into this question – how is the staffing’s response to it? You know, it’s funny. I think you may know we have a CNO on staff, Wendy, and we have our own clinical team and they’re constantly reminding us, “You don’t know what the day in the life of a nurse is.” And, so, we focus our effort on workflows that support that nurse in her day-to-day life. Now with the virtual Care nurse, does it feel like someone’s checking up on them, or are they embracing the help from the tele-nurse?
Coriell:
Yeah. So that’s also part of a lot of conversations that we had to have and be very intentional about and that’s not only unit leadership, that’s also nursing directors and CNOs as well. We have to have those trusting relationships so that the nurses on the unit don’t feel like somebody is watching them as well.
Again, back to the tenure of virtual nurses – we have an average of 12 years with our associates right now. They do have a lot of valuable information that they can give, and we’ve also had some great catches with that as well. And it’s how the virtual nurse is responding and coaching with that bedside nurse that can either make that experience positive or very negative. So, if they approach it in a way of, “I want to help you and assist you,” which is what we expect, we’ve seen that be positive. But that’s not, you know, without some of the challenges that we’ve had and having to talk through the bedside nurse’s understanding that the impact is not that somebody is watching over you because you’re doing things incorrectly. It’s another set of eyes, and as long as we can keep the patient at the focus of our care, which is what we do, and bring it back to the patient and patient safety, we can have those positive conversations.
Brandofino:
And I think you mentioned this earlier — I actually have a son who’s a nurse. And when he started, he was overwhelmed with what he didn’t know and I asked him the question, would that have been helpful? And he said absolutely, because they’re just so nervous about, you know, not knowing what they need to do next or just getting that extra kind of coaching. I think in a real-world situation, if it’s presented properly, it can really be beneficial to everybody, right – to the staff, but also to the patients.
Coriell:
Absolutely.
Brandofino:
So, I’m going to jump to a topic that is near and dear to everybody’s heart. Or maybe not. I’m a firm believer that AI is a technology that’s a hammer looking for a nail. We really should be focusing on the workflow and looking at what challenges are trying to be addressed and then figure out what technologies can apply.
The other thing that has come up in my mind is, OK, great. You could do it. Is it worth it? Can you act on it? Are you willing to pay for it? And I’ll give you an example. I was talking to a customer. We have access to a technology that, through dialogue between the virtual nurse and the patient, you can ascertain certain sentiment in the room. You can determine through decibels and the words being used whether the patient was being aggressive. There is also technology out there that can determine if the nurse is overly stressed. I was talking to a Chief Nursing Officer and I said, “If we could give you that data on, you know, nurses becoming overly stressed, would that be important to you?” And it was kind of a sad response and it was, “I don’t have the resources to act on that data, so giving me that data isn’t really going to help me because I can’t act on it.” Can you just comment on that concept and whether or not you’re struggling to figure out what is the right amount of data to get in order to make it useful?
Coriell:
What I’ll say first is I was laughing internally because when you were describing that, the first thing I thought of is, okay, how are we gonna be able to act on this? But I think no matter what, having that data, even if we can’t act on it at first, will better put us in a position to think in the future: What can we do? What can we change? How can we act on this?
I think no matter what, AI is going to change nursing. It’s going to change healthcare. And we need to make sure that we’re on board with that. The focus really will be on AI and how we can better care for our patients and better support our nursing associates. Predictive analytics and consumer driven health care is big right now and going to become even bigger. And without that data piece, we won’t be able to make the necessary changes.
Brandofino:
And I’m glad you responded that way because that’s our feeling too. Ultimately I I don’t think it’s going to be one thing. There’s not one silver bullet that’s going to make our lives so much better in healthcare. It’s a combination of data that we can capture from the room, data we can capture through the dialogue between the nurses and the patients, and then combining it together in a way that is something that you could look at and analyze. So ultimately, I keep telling everybody on our team, it’s not about the technology. The technology is the easy part. It’s about what you do with the data once you get it and how you act on it, right? I think that’s really the challenge for a lot of health systems these days.
You hear about the hospital room of the future. I’ve had conversations with innovation teams and they’ll say things like, “Well, we want the family to be able to call into the room any time.” Okay, technically that’s easy, but what if the doctor is in there doing a procedure? Or what if the nurse is cleaning the patient? You don’t want the family just popping in. So, it’s more about the workflow and then fitting the technology into the workflows, at least from our perspective when we look at things.
There’s a term we use called responsible AI, and that’s really what we mean by that. Just throwing technology for technology’s sake is just not where I think people want to go. What benefit can you get out of it and is it going to add value to either the staff or the patient or both? I think those are important questions you need to ask.
Coriell:
Yeah, I agree. You mentioned AI and that would be an opportunity for us to know beforehand so we’re not disrupting a patient or not disrupting a procedure. That happens often right now, even with our virtual nurses. And that’s one thing that we’re trying to determine from a workflow standpoint, how best do we determine if we are going in and interrupting? Is that patient asleep? Is a physician in there? Is an intense conversation going on? And that’s specifically what AI can help us with as well.
Brandofino:
Sure, absolutely. Do you guys have any thoughts around what the inpatient setting is going to look like in the future? What are your hospital rooms of the future looking like?
Coriell:
You know, if we think of a few years from now, we have that one care site that has the smart room. Certainly five years from now we see that being in many of our care sites. We really see AI being a a bigger piece like we talked about, data and analytics being a bigger piece, having more technology at somebody’s fingertips to find out what’s going on, have better communication, and get better answers quicker. We know that’s what our consumers want right now. We have different pay models that will be coming up. So overall, I think five years from now what our rooms look like will be vastly different than what they do currently.
Brandofino:
Well, Christine, thank you for joining us and sharing your story with our help system customers and people out there who are interested in learning more about how programs are being run. Clearly, tele-nursing is becoming a hot-button item and many many different use cases are out there. So, I’m glad to hear about a couple of yours and the things that you considered. Thank you for joining.
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Digital Transformation and the Future of Acute Care
Healthcare delivery is changing rapidly as health systems adapt to modern-day obstacles and opportunities. Staffing challenges, clinician burnout, evolving patient expectations, and the accelerated pace of technological innovation are driving radical reinvention in acute care settings.
Most notably, virtual care and artificial intelligence (AI) are converging at the patient bedside to enable more agile workflows for care teams that improve outcomes, enhance capacity, and elevate patient and staff experience. AI-outfitted rooms, digital whiteboards, and remote support for no-touch patient care tasks are emerging as cornerstones in acute care of the future models.
For patients, the future of healthcare engagement is omnichannel, integrated, and digital-first. For clinicians, these advancements finally put clinical teams on par with other industries in terms of remote workflow support and digital enablement. As providers consider what the hospital room of the future will look like, there is an increased focus on making smart investments today in technologies that will help health systems most effectively work toward that future state.
Providers’ Digital Transformation Priorities
McKinsey & Company recently surveyed 200 global health system executives about their digital investment priorities and progress with results to date. 75% of respondents reported that their organizations place a high priority on digital and analytics transformation but lack sufficient resources or planning in this area.
70% of respondents flagged virtual care as one of the top three digital health priorities that will have the biggest impact on their organization. AI was the only digital health priority to edge out virtual care, with 88% of respondents indicating AI among the biggest potential areas of impact. Even so, roughly one in five respondents do not plan to invest in AI within the next two years.
What’s holding providers back from investing in these technologies? Some organizations are waiting out the early stage growing pains in health AI while others are taking a measured step with pilot program implementations. Roughly half of respondents cited budget and capital expenses as a key obstacle to investing at scale.
Virtual health to drive patient experience and access was cited as the digital investment area with the highest performance satisfaction level. And, as McKinsey reports, “Optimizing workflows to enable more appropriate delegation, with technical enablement, could yield a potential 15 to 30 percent net time savings over a 12-hour shift. This could help close the nursing workforce gap by up to 300,000 inpatient nurses.”
The Role of Virtual Care & AI in Acute CareTransformation
In the recent webinar “Acute Care of the Future: How Health Systems Should Position Themselves and How Geisinger is Getting Ahead,” hosted by AVIA, executives from Geisinger Health System, a leader in healthcare innovation, emphasized the importance of investing in and scaling the right digital health experiences. These digital health investments are setting the new standard for attracting patients and staff, driving efficiency, and improving processes.
Today the health system and Caregility customer site’s digital health portfolio includes virtual ICU, sepsis, observation, telemetry, and nursing programs. In 2023 over 73% of admissions and 58% of discharges were conducted virtually at Geisinger with executive leaders reporting several benefits:
Repurposed 12,000 hours for bedside staff due to fielding tasks virtually
3-hour reduction from order-to-admit to arrival from the unit (22% time savings)
20-minute reduction in time to discharge (11% time savings)
Geisinger executives emphasized that platforms and ecosystems that support multiple use cases are vital to providing relief and value to care teams. Ease of use is critical to the “stickiness” of these technologies, ensuring that they are adopted and utilized effectively.
Conclusion
The future of acute care lies in embracing digital health innovation to create more efficient, patient-centered, and agile healthcare systems. By investing in the right technologies, health systems can navigate the challenges of today and position themselves for success in the future. As we look ahead, the question we must continually ask ourselves is this: What investments can we make today to future-proof care delivery?
Author: Kedar Ganta, Chief Product and Engineering Officer, Caregility
Today’s care delivery has evolved in ways unimaginable just a decade ago. During this period, technology and innovation advanced to offer a unique way to deliver more efficient and personalized care by aligning with constantly evolving healthcare needs.
In our July release, Caregility unveiled a new family of hardware devices and a host of innovative solutions that continue that trajectory. Read on to learn more about the latest advancements in the Caregility July 2024 update!
Reimagined Devices
Introducing the APS200 Duo
Our next-generation room device, the new APS200 Duo, is designed and engineered for diverse care needs. The first-of-its-kind dual camera device is a powerful addition with advanced capabilities such as a built-in beamforming microphone array, wide-angle lens, and zoom lens for a flexible and feature-rich experience.
The groundbreaking features in the APS200 Duo support simultaneous, independent camera streams with individual pan, tilt, and zoom controls, allowing remote clinicians and AI systems to access video and audio streams independently while maintaining full control over camera settings.
APS100 Pro with FlexCam for Versatile Care
We introduced the flexibility to add a FlexCam camera to our APS100 Pro devices, which allows external camera integration for versatile positioning. With two cameras at their fingertips, care providers can either scan an entire patient room for comprehensive views or zoom into a specific area for detailed observation as necessary.
AI Equipped Devices
Our new APS devices come equipped with advanced intelligence built-in, transforming video and audio capabilities. With smart infrared processing for night vision, far-end camera control, and multi-streaming video capabilities, the devices provide clear visuals in all conditions. On the audio front, we provide multi-streaming audio, noise suppression, adaptive gain control, far-end audio control, and a beamforming microphone array for precise sound capture. This is all possible as we power our new generation devices for edge computing with an 8-core CPU, dedicated GPU and NPU, up to 32GB of RAM, and hardware encoding and decoding up to 8K at 30 fps.
Together, the APS200 Duo and APS100 Pro with FlexCam are redefining hybrid AI workflows, making it easier and more accessible than ever for clinicians to provide exceptional care tailored to unique workflow requirements. This future-proofs your investment, ensuring our devices can handle the ever-changing demands of AI workloads while delivering exceptional performance in diverse care settings.
New Device Integrations
Integrate with TVs in the Patient Room
Caregility device integration with existing TV hardware in hospital rooms through RS-232 cables preserves hospital infrastructure investments and optimizes resource allocation. This integration enhances patient experience by improving communication via large TV screens, making care team engagement more effective and inclusive. Furthermore, the seamless, robust video call integrations with partners such as Aceso, Avidex, eVideon, Get Well, Oneview, and pCare provide a cohesive experience for both clinicians and patients via the TV.
Connected Ecosystem Enhancements with OneView and Social Mobile
Enhancing bedside experience plays a crucial role in patient care, as it influences comfort, improves communication, and shapes the perception of care quality. In partnership with Oneview, Caregility introduced two-way calling between clinicians and patients via the Social Mobile tablet, improving communication while protecting patient privacy. Much like our television integration, embedded intelligence seamlessly connects patients to clinician calls and effortlessly returns them to their previous activities once consultations are complete.
As we continue to innovate and adapt to the evolving needs of healthcare, we are committed to bringing more groundbreaking capabilities that make your clinical workflows smoother and interactions with patients more meaningful through the latest in healthcare technology. The improvements we’ve introduced this July are just the beginning of the journey. Stay tuned for more updates!
Bridging Patient Language Gaps with Video Remote Interpreting
Language services have become a core integration in virtual care implementations in acute care settings. Effective communication between providers and patients is essential and language interpreters help ensure equitable and accessible care for patients who are Limited English Proficient (LEP), Deaf, or Hard of Hearing. Empowering caregivers with access to remote interpreters amplifies language access support using on-demand resources that are available around the clock to bridge more communication gaps.
We recently sat down with Greg Marshall, Director of Partners and Alliances at LanguageLine Solutions, a Caregility Connected Ecosystem partner, to learn more about what makes the integration of Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) services essential to patient care delivery. Greg shares his insights on the benefits of VRI, its regulatory importance, unique use cases, and the future of VRI in healthcare.
What benefits do VRI services bring to healthcare provider organizations?
Greg Marshall Director of Partners and Alliances LanguageLine Solutions
Video Remote Interpreting services are revolutionizing healthcare by leveling the playing field for patients who are Limited English Proficient, Deaf, or Hard of Hearing. With about 10% of patients needing equitable access, VRI ensures everyone gets the same quality care. Plus, it’s not just the patients who benefit; their families do too, enabling them to be part of critical health discussions without language barriers.
The magic of VRI lies in its versatility and effectiveness. For American Sign Language (ASL) users, the visual component is indispensable, making VRI a game-changer. Beyond the immediate communication benefits, VRI is linked to better health outcomes, fewer readmissions, and reduced costs. It’s a win-win for both patient satisfaction and the healthcare provider’s bottom line. Research backs this up, showing that effective interpreter services can drastically improve patient understanding and adherence to medical advice, which is crucial for better health outcomes.
In terms of efficiency, VRI reduces the reliance on on-site interpreters, cutting down on logistical headaches and costs. This means healthcare staff can focus more on what they do best: caring for patients. Immediate access to remote interpreters boosts staff productivity and ensures that no patient is left waiting due to language barriers. In a nutshell, VRI isn’t just a service; it’s a smarter way to deliver healthcare that meets everyone’s needs by seamlessly bridging language barriers when the need arises.
Can you tell us about the regulatory side of VRI services and how they help healthcare organizations meet Language Access requirements?
VRI services help healthcare organizations stay on the right side of the law while making a real difference for patients. Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare providers must ensure non-discriminatory access to services, which includes providing meaningful communication for patients with Limited English Proficiency and those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. VRI ticks all the boxes by offering immediate and reliable interpreter access, ensuring that no patient is left out due to language barriers.
From a compliance standpoint, VRI is a game-changer. It helps healthcare providers meet the most stringent requirements of Section 1557. This is particularly crucial during emergencies when every second counts. With VRI, you’re not only avoiding not meeting mandatory regulatory requirements; you’re also ensuring that patients receive accurate and timely information about their health, which is essential for effective treatment and care.
Are there any unique use cases you see in the field that you can tell us about?
One of the standout applications of VRI is its effectiveness with children. Children often rely on visual cues to understand and communicate, and VRI allows interpreters to better engage with young patients.
The visual aspect of VRI is obviously invaluable for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. By enabling the use of American Sign Language and other visual communication methods, VRI ensures these patients receive accurate and clear communication.
VRI is also extremely beneficial in environments with the potential for cross-talk or multiple speakers, such as emergency rooms or busy clinics. The visual capability of VRI allows interpreters to see who is speaking, reducing misunderstandings and ensuring that correct information is communicated.
How have VRI services evolved in recent years and how do you see the field advancing over the next 5 years?
VRI services have seen significant advancements, particularly in the scope of languages covered and the quality of remote solutions. At LanguageLine, we now offer video interpreting in more than 45 languages. This has included integrating more dialects and specialized medical terminology, enhancing the overall effectiveness of patient-provider communication. In addition to ASL, there has also been substantial growth in video language support including Arabic, Cantonese, French, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, and Vietnamese languages.
Additionally, technological advancements have made video-based accessibility a standard option in patient rooms. Many hospitals now equip patient rooms with video interpreting devices, ensuring immediate access to interpreters without the need for in-person visits. This convenience not only improves patient care but also streamlines the workflow for healthcare staff.
Looking ahead, the next five years are likely to bring even more integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into VRI services. These technologies can help predict language needs and streamline the interpreting process, making services faster and more accurate. Furthermore, as telehealth continues to grow, VRI will become an even more integral part of healthcare, ensuring that language barriers do not impede access to quality care.
We can also expect further enhancements in video quality and accessibility features, making VRI a more seamless and user-friendly experience for all patients and providers.
Interested in learning more about VRI service integrations for your virtual care programs? Set up a discovery call today.