Learnings from the ER: Building Sustainable Virtual Health with AI
“We’re seeing a need for accessing data in real time both from a clinical perspective and an operational perspective in and across the health care system…to provide insights on patient care as well as how we run the hospitals.” Peter Jones, Healthcare Industry Lead, Microsoft Canada
Download this free webinar from Andor Health and Microsoft.
Learn how to build a sustainable virtual health strategy, while transforming care collaboration with AI from:
Joshua Briscoe MD, FACEP;
Noel Khirsukhani, Chief Growth Officer, Andor Health; and
Peter Jones, Healthcare Industry Lead, Microsoft Canada.
This team of healthcare and technology experts discuss how the ‘new normal’ in virtual healthcare is maturing and the strategies Canadian healthcare providers should be considering when configuring virtual visits beyond the video call.
This session explores perspectives from both clinicians and technologists when orchestrating sustainable virtual health strategies including configuring self-service scheduling, virtual waiting rooms, multi-specialist consultations and post visit follow-up.
As AI capabilities become the key differentiator in sustaining virtual care into the future, this webinar also focuses on how AI infused capabilities are powering virtual rounding, collaboration and communication between clinicians and the acceleration of time-to-treatment by:
Empowering health care teams to collaborate and coordinate care in real-time
Configuring and contextualizing secure access to patient health information through AI bots
Reducing clinician burnout through automated patient workflows.
Watch the webinar here.
Virtual Rounding: Telehealth for Emergency Departments
Telehealth has indeed come of age with the COVID-19 pandemic, propelling the evolution of new agile innovations to solve emerging problems. Virtual rounding is one such example. It’s not the first thing that comes to mind when telehealth is mentioned in the traditional sense, but it is the form of telehealth that I rely on daily to efficiently provide high quality care in an emergency department that rarely has relief from overcrowding.
Overcrowding in the ED has become a pervasive problem across the country as hospitals continue to struggle with resources and clinical staff burnout resulting from COVID-19 surges. Virtual rounding is a solution that has allowed our hospital to mitigate these challenges by allowing clinicians to virtually assess patients while they wait in the ED – and here’s the kicker – we do it without disrupting the clinician’s workflow or requiring the in-person staff to take on additional work.
Seamless integration may be the buzzword du jour, but it’s the fait accompli of virtual rounding. Providers can continue working clinically during a time of decreased hours and contribute to patient care, outcomes, and safety while adding to overall productivity. Here’s an example from our ED of how virtual rounding is streamlining workflow, improving outcomes, while combatting wait time frustration and improving the overall patient experience.
While a medic rounds to repeat vitals, a virtual session is launched with a clinician (in this case an advanced practice provider or senior level resident). This allows for adding labs to existing specimens that were pulled for protocol orders or adding advanced radiology studies to be completed, which means faster disposition times. This also leads to patients feeling like someone is actively watching out for them, allows them to ask questions regarding results and empowers communication with a discussion of the importance of a treatment plan or admission and an in-person evaluation.
And here are the results that I have experienced with ThinkAndor Virtual Rounding:
A 49% decrease in rates of patients “leaving without being seen.”
Of those patients seen by the virtual provider, this reduction jumps to 92% (includes elopements and those leaving against medical advice).
20% of patients are being identified for immediate discharge and 3 patients per 8 hour shift are being identified as needing expedited care.
We have caught early sepsis, called a stroke alert, and identified a GI bleed ultimately requiring blood transfusion – all by virtual assessment.
More than the improvement to patient flow and data on throughput; for clinicians, improving patient care is the real ROI. This is what I have experienced with virtual rounding and why I will continue to rely on it to add value as we push through these unprecedented times in emergency departments and across many other areas of care.
For At-Risk Patients
Anywhere the struggle is great, the level of ingenuity and inventiveness is high.
– Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin
This sentiment has been made salient by the pervasive reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, most of us, especially in the medical field, have faced unimaginable difficulties; but we’ve also experienced the other side of the spectrum. We’ve had the opportunity to witness how these difficulties have brought out the best in people; including the ingenuity to solve some of healthcare’s most persistent problems.
Technologies like virtual care have gone from obscure to ubiquitous, becoming an essential component of a sustainable, long-term healthcare strategy for health systems. The adoption of new applications of virtual care, like Telesitting, are opening new doors, allowing for improved quality care delivery and the preservation of health system resources.
As skilled nursing facilities, rehab facilities, hospitals and health systems find themselves struggling to balance staffing challenges with increased patient needs, Telesitting is being adopted as a first line of defense for monitoring at-risk patients. Traditionally, patients at-risk of falling, harm, elopement, etc., have required 1:1 full-time monitoring, straining already thinly stretched clinical resources.
With AI-enabled Telesitting from ThinkAndor®, patients are monitored virtually on a 1:many platform. Utilizing video, microphone and in-room devices and sensors, one clinician is able to effectively monitor multiple patients virtually and be immediately alerted to patient movement, fall or other adverse event that requires intervention. Here are a few real-world examples of the technology at-work.
A patient requiring monitoring, who is at-risk for fall, positions themselves to sit up in their bed. The AI-powered Telesitting technology immediately recognizes this movement and alerts the clinician that the patient may be trying to get out of bed and directs an intervention.
Patients who are known for violent or aggressive behavior, at-risk of hurting themselves/others, or elopement have been traditionally monitored on a 1:1 basis. With Telesitting, one staff member is empowered to monitor multiple patients safely and effectively, or act as a compliment to an in-person sitter. In this instance, the AI-technology would alert the “telesitter” if the patient moves towards the door or takes an action that could be recognized as a precursor to self-harm.
Of course, Telesitting is not appropriate for all at-risk patients, but with ThinkAndor’s embedded risk assessment tools for multiple risk types, staff can effectively determine safe candidates; resulting in preserved resources, an empowered staff, and better outcomes for patients.
The transformation of healthcare is upon us. I’m grateful that the ingenuity that drives innovative sustainable healthcare solutions is thriving and is empowering all healthcare personnel to consistently deliver better care for our patients.
Happy National Doctors’ Day!
A message of thanks, admiration, and inspiration from Joshua Briscoe, MD, to his physician and clinician colleagues for National Doctors’ Day.
Ushering in Next Generation Virtual Care: A Unified Approach to Virtual Health
In the early days of the pandemic, providers and care teams actively sought ways to deliver care to patients safely and effectively. The result was a surge in the use of telehealth.
Today, if you ask hospital executives what are the top five priorities, among the topics will inevitably be virtual care.
What is missing from conversations with C-level executives is a comprehensive approach to virtual care. Virtual care is no longer simply the use of telehealth. It must be an all-encompassing strategy that includes traditional virtual visits, but also acknowledges the importance of a deep strategy surrounding virtual rounding & telesitting, virtual patient monitoring & hospital at home, and team & community collaboration.
It is also important to have a digital front door capability that can be configured to tailor virtual experiences for patients and families without increasing hospital burden. A digital front door orchestrates and integrates all aspects of virtual care and is necessary for creating an ideal patient and provider experience across care settings.
Additionally, with AI/ML models becoming more mature, healthcare institutions can efficiently map the correct virtual intervention, with the correct patients. This allows clinical context and content to be curated within the virtual interaction, improving time to intervention. The result is better patient outcomes.
Here are 4 key themes to consider when developing your hospital’s approach to virtual care.
Market Dynamics
New market entrants such as Amazon, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart are taking steps to redefine care delivery in non-hospital settings. For these players, the pandemic highlighted an attractive and convenient proposition to deliver health virtually to consumers across conditions and acuity levels.
Healthcare providers need to embrace a consumer-centric approach to virtual health, including:
Leveraging a Digital Front Door to Improve Care Access
Hospitals increased access to care during the pandemic by expanding virtual visits by 6,000 percent. We learned virtual care helps close disparities in health, but hospitals must continue to grow virtual health strategies beyond telehealth and use the opportunity to increase access to care. To create visibility, navigation, and access for patients, a comprehensive digital front door is necessary. Digital front door technologies offer improved patient access and right-size need and volume across lines of service. A well-executed digital front door and virtual health strategy can yield significant return on investment:
64% reduction in unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits and improved hospital bed availability for high acuity patients
90% of patients were at ease with virtual care and felt care was equal to or better than in person
80% of patients return to the digital front door to actively take part in their health
Delivering Care at Home
With ED volume pressure, providers should re-envision care delivery outside the four walls of the facility. Advancements in remote patient monitoring have yielded positive outcomes in managing conditions post discharge. Health systems with patient monitoring have seen a reduction in readmission rates upwards of over 24%.
A natural evolution is to shift advanced care services to new care models such as hospital at home. Healthcare providers are not prepared for deployment of care teams and resources to deliver proper services.
Combining virtual health and secure clinical communications can improve care team coordination. When done well, these models create revenue streams, encourage patient satisfaction, retention, loyalty, and create availability for higher acuity patients.
Platform vs. Siloed Capabilities
Early on, telehealth struggled to find its identity. Virtual provider networks were set up to augment services but lacked the technical infrastructure to support operations. As the industry matured, telehealth was awash with siloed technologies creating highly fragmented experiences and inefficiencies. This led to added burdens and an inability to service demand.
Consider the breadth of technologies that encompass your virtual strategy – more technology does not equal improved experiences. Multiple siloed technologies carry workflow burdens and cost implications. A unified platform approach establishes simplified, consistent access to care and supports the provider and patient in any setting.
Yielding Return on Investment
Alleviating Resource Shortages
Resource constraints have hit healthcare hard. Rounding, when virtualized, becomes a powerful tool to address resource constraints. Hospitals have strategically aligned the approach to virtual health to include virtual rounding, which can enable a one-to-many model to better manage system capacity and improve acuity mix. Introducing virtual rounding experiences in departments such as emergency (ED), where remote clinicians with capacity can quickly triage patients, has proven 17% reduction in left without being seen (LWBS) rates and increase ED capacity by two times. This enables organizations to offer clinicians alternative working models (virtual, remote, and part time) to alleviate staffing shortages.
Expediting Workflows & Improving Patient Outcomes
Enterprise-wide communication and collaboration technology can be combined with virtual health offerings and tethered to electronic health records to increase care team productivity, reduce patient wait times, increase patient throughput, and significantly lower costs. Across the board, peer-to-peer and clinic-to-clinic collaboration such as, tele stroke or tele psych require manual effort to request a specialist. The result is slower intervention times and directly affects patient outcomes. By streamlining care team communication workflows and automating collaboration pathways, hospitals can reduce burden while improving time to intervention and quality.
Context and Orchestration using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence presents opportunities to make virtual experiences efficient for care teams and personalized to patient need. AI bots can inject the virtual environment with clinical data and context based on provider, service, and patient clinical profile. AI bots can also aid clinicians in curating patient context, recommending next best actions, supporting clinical decision making, and requesting clinical support from available care team members.
Hospitals looking to implement a strategic virtual health program must look at how all virtual care is delivered across the health system and move towards a vision that unifies all the disparate solutions with a digital front door enabling a consistent experience. Hospitals embracing benefits of virtual care will excel in the future. Do not be left behind, learn how ThinkAndor® Enterprise Platform for Virtual Health can enable your organization to achieve more.
Telehealth Awareness Week Thought Leadership Interview
Noel Khirsukhani speaks to the American Telehealth Association for Telehealth Awareness we
Hospital at Home – Patient Benefits
I say let’s bring back the house call with a modern, more innovative approach.
The pandemic brought significant advances and adoption in remote and virtual care offerings. Now that providers, patients, and systems have embraced virtual health, it is the perfect opportunity to take another step forward in transforming patient care by expanding upon the innovative house call in hospital-at-home models. It won’t be easy but – if the orchestration is right – the potential is grand!
Anyone who has ever been admitted to the hospital, or stayed with a loved one, understands how exhausting it is. Healing in an acute care setting is met with the challenges of frequent interruptions, lack of sleep, and time away from loved ones – all proven to decrease the duration of illness and be vital to recovery – not to mention cutting down on hospital-associated complications.
By delivering care in a more patient-centric approach, hospital-at-home models can effectively deliver hospital-level care to patients at home. Patients who qualify for hospital-at-home programs experience multiple benefits.
Better Sleep Quality
A good night’s sleep promotes healing, but it can be hard to sleep in a hospital bed with unfamiliar sounds and frequent interruptions. Hospital-at-home patients sleep better and longer than patients in the hospital.
Increased Movement
While rest is important, movement promotes recovery by increasing blood flow and driving oxygen to stimulate healing. Patients in a hospital-at-home program moved significantly more than those admitted to the hospital.
Fewer Readmissions
Reducing avoidable readmissions has always been a goal in a quality healthcare system. By continually monitoring and communicating with patients, hospital-at-home programs have proven a reduction in readmissions by approximately 16%.
Reduced Cost of Care
By reimagining not only how but also where care is delivered, healthcare systems can find innovative ways to better deliver care while addressing the cost. Hospital-at-home programs reduce the cost of care by 38% and shorten the length of stay.
But the biggest benefit is that patients remain in their homes surrounded by loved ones, supported by a team of caregivers, and empowered to manage their own health and wellness.
Let’s reimagine how care can be delivered virtually anywhere, including the home. Because we all know there’s no place like home.
Andor Health Tops Black Book Market Research Rankings for Virtual Care Solutions
In a recent survey conducted by Black Book Market Research LLC, Andor Health emerged as the frontrunner in client satisfaction for virtual care solutions. The company, renowned for its utilization of open AI and healthcare-trained ChatGPT models, has been recognized as the leader in various aspects, setting a new standard in the healthcare technology landscape.
Black Book Research conducted an extensive annual market research survey, reaching out to almost 1,000 clinicians and leaders across more than 750 facilities. The survey encompassed 18 evaluation criteria, delving into crucial aspects of virtual care solutions. The comprehensive analysis positioned Andor Health at the pinnacle of client satisfaction for any virtual care solution.
Key Performance Indicators: Andor Health’s success is reflected in the outstanding scores it achieved across key performance indicators:
Strategic Alignment of Client Goals including VBC, RCM & Telehealth: 9.80
Innovation & Optimization: 9.84
Client relationships and cultural fit: 9.63
Trust, Accountability, Transparency, Ethics: 9.65
Customization: 9.86
Integration and interfaces: 9.70
Brand image and marketing communications: 9.76
Account Management Support and customer care: 9.75
Best of breed technology and process improvement: 9.78
Overall Mean: 9.67
Leveraging open AI and healthcare-trained ChatGPT models, ThinkAndor® enables care teams and patients to connect seamlessly across the care continuum. This groundbreaking platform unifies virtual health, allowing the entire health system to deliver care at scale.
Key Features of ThinkAndor®:
Efficiency Through Integration: Allows care teams to deliver care efficiently by leveraging existing media devices with no additional apps or setup. Video/audio endpoints can be repurposed to enable virtual nursing, virtual sitting, and virtual remote consultations at scale.
Seamless Workflow Integration: Existing clinical workflows remain untouched, empowering clinicians to join virtual sessions directly from the EHR.
Andor Health’s top-ranking in Black Book Market Research’s survey is a testament to its dedication to delivering innovative solutions that enhance virtual care experiences. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, Andor Health stands as a beacon of excellence, providing a glimpse into the future of healthcare technology. Explore the full report and discover how AI-powered virtual care experiences can elevate your healthcare practices.
Andor Health Validated by Oracle Health, Bringing OpenAI and ChatGPT to Virtual Care
Andor Health, has achieved validation from Oracle Health’s open developer program. This validation allows Andor Health’s flagship platform, ThinkAndor®, to seamlessly connect with Oracle Health’s electronic health record (EHR) system. By harnessing the power of OpenAI and ChatGPT, ThinkAndor® enhances virtual healthcare interactions, including virtual nursing and virtual sitting, while delivering scalability and cost efficiency to healthcare organizations. With this validation, ThinkAndor® enables health systems to establish sustainable virtual health strategies and improve patient care.
Powerful Virtual Care Delivery:
ThinkAndor® leverages OpenAI and GPT to enable remote care delivery across various settings, including bedside and home care. By unifying virtual care into one comprehensive platform, users can conduct virtual visits, virtual rounding (including nursing, virtual sitting, and remote consultations), and patient monitoring (such as hospital-at-home) with secure collaboration capabilities. The platform also offers configurable digital front doors with an AI virtual assistant, providing a holistic virtual care experience that enhances patient engagement and satisfaction.
Enabling Sustainable Virtual Health Strategies:
By seamlessly connecting with Oracle Health’s EHR through FHIR APIs, ThinkAndor® ensures a smooth integration into healthcare workflows and processes. The validation process includes rigorous security, operational, functional, and user experience reviews, providing healthcare organizations with peace of mind regarding data privacy and secure connectivity. ThinkAndor® allows health systems to establish sustainable virtual health strategies by leveraging the power of Oracle Health’s EHR and Andor Health’s advanced virtual care capabilities.
Driving Improved Healthcare Outcomes:
Srini Surendranath, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Andor Health, highlights the significant benefits of ThinkAndor®, including a 35% reduction in abandonment rates, 30% cost reduction in virtual nursing, 70% cost reduction in virtual sitting, and a 40% drop in readmission rates through virtual visits, rounding, and community collaboration. These outcomes demonstrate the profound impact of ThinkAndor® in improving healthcare efficiency, cost savings, and patient outcomes. The validation from Oracle Health further expands the suite of offerings that Andor Health can provide to its customers, driving enhanced connectivity and advanced virtual care solutions.
Creating Open and Connected Healthcare:
Oracle Health is committed to making healthcare more open and connected, and their validation program plays a crucial role in achieving this vision. Jake Engle, Senior Director of Open Developer Experience at Oracle Health, emphasizes the program’s objective to help developers integrate their applications seamlessly into clinicians’ and health administrators’ workflows. By clearing rigorous technical reviews, the validation program ensures the highest standards of technical excellence and usability for healthcare organizations.
Summary:
Andor Health’s validation by Oracle Health marks a significant milestone in the advancement of virtual care solutions. With ThinkAndor® now seamlessly connected to Oracle Health’s EHR, healthcare organizations can leverage the power of OpenAI and ChatGPT in delivering exceptional virtual care experiences. The platform’s ability to unify virtual care delivery, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes positions ThinkAndor® as a transformative solution in the healthcare industry. Through their collaboration, Andor Health and Oracle Health are driving open and connected healthcare, leading the way towards a future where virtual care is central to delivering high-quality, accessible, and patient-centered healthcare.
Tampa General Hospital Implements ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital for Enhanced Patient Care
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is at the forefront of delivering world-class care, with a strong focus on innovation. As part of their commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology and improving patient outcomes, TGH has implemented Andor Health’s ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital in their inpatient setting. This AI-powered platform enables care teams to provide virtual care experiences, connecting multiple endpoints and streamlining communication for enhanced collaboration.
Empowering Care Teams with AI-Driven Virtual Care:
ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), opens up a range of possibilities for TGH care teams. The platform allows for virtual provider-to-provider consultations, multidisciplinary calls, and the inclusion of family members, caregivers, and friends in the virtual conversation. With features like alerts for fall risk, elopement, and patient movement, ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital enhances patient care and safety.
Observing Patient Progress and Remote Consultations:
TGH care teams can observe a patient’s clinical progress virtually, allowing for real-time monitoring and intervention. Additionally, the platform facilitates remote consultations with specialists on-demand, providing timely access to expertise. Future updates to the platform include capturing patients’ self-reported information, further driving personalized care and actionable insights for care teams.
Enhancing the Work Environment and Patient Experience:
Implementing ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital allows TGH to virtualize patient care capabilities and maximize their resources. By adding virtual team members to the patient care team, the academic health system aims to improve both the patient experience and the work environment for clinicians, providers, and ancillary teams. This innovative approach enables a collaborative practice and enhances overall patient outcomes.
Dr. Nishit Patel, a professor in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Vice President and Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Tampa General Hospital, highlights the benefits of the platform, stating, “ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital empowers our care teams with the ability to care for patients using the right clinical content and context remotely. This platform allows us to continuously observe at-risk patients from anywhere, at any time, driving a collaborative practice while improving overall patient outcomes.”
Conclusion:
Tampa General Hospital’s implementation of ThinkAndor® Virtual Hospital showcases their dedication to utilizing advanced technologies to improve patient care. By empowering care teams with AI-driven virtual care experiences, TGH enhances collaboration, patient monitoring, and access to expertise. With a focus on optimizing resources and enhancing patient outcomes, TGH continues to lead in innovation and deliver world-class care.
