Provider
Solution Delivery Division of the Defense Health Agency
Washington
David
Coleman
Web and Mobile Technology, Section Chief of Development
253-968-3389
david.a.coleman94.civ@mail.mil
THE CHALLENGE:
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of internal medicine physicians submitted a request to the Web & Mobile Technology Team to develop a progressive web application (app) that could provide up to date information on clinical guidelines and information on the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients.
WHO WAS IMPACTED& WHAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE INNOVATION:
The Web and Mobile Technology Program Management Office, Section Chief of Development, David Coleman and team created the Anti-microbial Stewardship application. It contains an array of information for providers on microbes and the effective of drugs in each particular regions. Additionally, there are COVID-19 resources available for providers in the app, and details on anti-biograms observed by a medical treatment facility, and organism susceptibility to relevant anti-microbials.
WHAT THE INNOVATION ENTAILED:
The Anti-microbial Stewardship App helps providers determine how effective drugs are against microbes. Overall, this innovation enhancement provides patients and providers with informed medical treatment.
THE RESULTS:
The effective and comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship programs have been documented to improve patient care, decrease antimicrobial use from 22% to 36%, resulting in significant annual healthcare savings from $200,000 to $900,000.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of internal medicine physicians submitted a request to the Web & Mobile Technology Team to develop a progressive web application (app) that could provide up to date information on clinical guidelines and information on the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients.
WHO WAS IMPACTED& WHAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE INNOVATION:
The Web and Mobile Technology Program Management Office, Section Chief of Development, David Coleman and team created the Anti-microbial Stewardship application. It contains an array of information for providers on microbes and the effective of drugs in each particular regions. Additionally, there are COVID-19 resources available for providers in the app, and details on anti-biograms observed by a medical treatment facility, and organism susceptibility to relevant anti-microbials.
WHAT THE INNOVATION ENTAILED:
The Anti-microbial Stewardship App helps providers determine how effective drugs are against microbes. Overall, this innovation enhancement provides patients and providers with informed medical treatment.
THE RESULTS:
The effective and comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship programs have been documented to improve patient care, decrease antimicrobial use from 22% to 36%, resulting in significant annual healthcare savings from $200,000 to $900,000.
Enhanced the patient experience
Provider
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Anne
McGovern
Director of Business Development & Community Engagement
6176161687
amcgovern@pplm.org
COVID-19 has certainly presented a great many challenges, and our commitment to ensuring that our patients continue to have access to the health care they need remains resolute at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM). As soon as it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would affect access to care, PPLM assessed how we could strengthen our capacity to provide telehealth services, seeking to understand the issues patients were facing and how we could address their needs. We realized that with limited in-person services, we needed to find a way to continue providing affordable, accessible STI testing and treatment. Prior to COVID-19, our health centers had, on average, 1,800 STI-related visits per month. Since PPLM’s transitioned at the time to only essential medical services in-person and telehealth for all other services, we saw that number of STI visits drop to 1/3 of that.. Therefore, our assumption is that over 1,000 patients per month were not seeking STI testing due to limitations imposed by COVID-19. We were concerned about these patients and aimed to reduce and ultimately eliminate any barriers to their receiving care from PPLM.
So, within the first month of the pandemic our health center operations team including our Lab Director, Health Center Director, Lab Technicians and Marketing Team quickly mobilized a plan to confer with patients through telehealth and offer them an at-home STI testing kit to be used and then returned to our onsite lab at PPLM. Our staff established a process for assembling the kits, ensuring accuracy of the test, and expediting the shipping to and from the patient’s home, ideally at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Our goal was and continues to be to limit additional stress on our patients during these already highly stressful times. Additionally, this new program has allowed us to maintain our lab staff during the crisis, as well as strengthen our long-term offerings.
Since April we have sent approximately 1500 kits.
So, within the first month of the pandemic our health center operations team including our Lab Director, Health Center Director, Lab Technicians and Marketing Team quickly mobilized a plan to confer with patients through telehealth and offer them an at-home STI testing kit to be used and then returned to our onsite lab at PPLM. Our staff established a process for assembling the kits, ensuring accuracy of the test, and expediting the shipping to and from the patient’s home, ideally at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Our goal was and continues to be to limit additional stress on our patients during these already highly stressful times. Additionally, this new program has allowed us to maintain our lab staff during the crisis, as well as strengthen our long-term offerings.
Since April we have sent approximately 1500 kits.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas
Jaclyn
Bernard
Innovations Lead, Information Services
630-310-7288
jbbernar@texaschildrens.org
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas Children’s Hospital’s Patient and Family Services and Human Resources departments created a survey used to screen employees who were coming to work onsite. The infrastructure that was originally leveraged is typically used for low-volume surveys, and could not support the heavy traffic of the COVID screening survey at shift change time each day; the system went down several times, causing operational inefficiencies. Employees tried to maintain social distancing while standing in long lines, and clinical users arriving for the start of their shifts had to budget lots of extra time to accommodate the long wait. Increasing cores, increasing memory, and tweaking database configuration did not adequately address the system’s stability issues, and the original survey was taken down completely on May 28, 2020. Information Services was tasked with using available technology to create a stable, more reliable custom survey over a single weekend.
The team included a developer, an enterprise architect, an Azure administrator, several information security team members, database administrators, and an analyst for load testing, as well as leadership support from each of these areas. This integrated team with a common goal was able to leverage available technology, think outside the box, and ultimately implement a new survey using Azure ChatBot functionality on June 1, 2020. In a single weekend, they completed an information security assessment, web server deployment, firewall configuration, Microsoft Azure development, website development, functional and user acceptance testing, and load testing. Since the initial go live, the survey has been tweaked several times as the screening algorithm is updated due to changes in our understanding of COVID-19 risk and updates to state, local, and Texas Children’s recommendations.
Since deployment, the survey has screened approximately 52,000 providers and employees weekly (up to 9800 daily) as they report to work, with zero technical issues. The screening process is very efficient: as they enter work through a number of designated screening locations, employees scan a QR code to access the survey on their phone. After filling it out, their temperatures are taken via thermal camera and they show the survey results page (with their name; the date; and a convenient green checkmark icon if they’ve passed, or an orange exclamation point if there are concerns with some of their answers) to a screener. Employees who pass both the questionnaire and the temperature check receive their mask for the day and go to work. Employees who fail either check are asked to fill out an additional survey with more detailed questions; then they are sent back home and Employee Health follows up with them.
Reports allow administrators to track trends in survey volumes and answers over time. In addition to tracking screening failure rates (the percentage of employees who answer “Yes” to any of our screening questions, or who fail a temperature check), we also track the number of people taking the survey day-by-day and hour-by-hour. This has helped us to optimize staffing at the screening stations. The survey technology and process are so efficient that we have been able to reduce the number of staff required to run the screening stations, even as the number of employees coming back to work on campus has increased in recent months.
The team included a developer, an enterprise architect, an Azure administrator, several information security team members, database administrators, and an analyst for load testing, as well as leadership support from each of these areas. This integrated team with a common goal was able to leverage available technology, think outside the box, and ultimately implement a new survey using Azure ChatBot functionality on June 1, 2020. In a single weekend, they completed an information security assessment, web server deployment, firewall configuration, Microsoft Azure development, website development, functional and user acceptance testing, and load testing. Since the initial go live, the survey has been tweaked several times as the screening algorithm is updated due to changes in our understanding of COVID-19 risk and updates to state, local, and Texas Children’s recommendations.
Since deployment, the survey has screened approximately 52,000 providers and employees weekly (up to 9800 daily) as they report to work, with zero technical issues. The screening process is very efficient: as they enter work through a number of designated screening locations, employees scan a QR code to access the survey on their phone. After filling it out, their temperatures are taken via thermal camera and they show the survey results page (with their name; the date; and a convenient green checkmark icon if they’ve passed, or an orange exclamation point if there are concerns with some of their answers) to a screener. Employees who pass both the questionnaire and the temperature check receive their mask for the day and go to work. Employees who fail either check are asked to fill out an additional survey with more detailed questions; then they are sent back home and Employee Health follows up with them.
Reports allow administrators to track trends in survey volumes and answers over time. In addition to tracking screening failure rates (the percentage of employees who answer “Yes” to any of our screening questions, or who fail a temperature check), we also track the number of people taking the survey day-by-day and hour-by-hour. This has helped us to optimize staffing at the screening stations. The survey technology and process are so efficient that we have been able to reduce the number of staff required to run the screening stations, even as the number of employees coming back to work on campus has increased in recent months.
Improved the life of healthcare providers
Provider
Door County Medical Center
Wisconsin
Erick
Schrier
Chief Information Officer
920-746-3690
Erick.schrier@dcmedical.org
Using Information Technology to Manage Covid in a Rural Midwest Community
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
saad ibn rabia school
Outside the United States
Dr.fadi
Ibrahim
Novel Inhibitor of COVID-19 by robot using Zinc Nano-Based Aza-Pc and CQDs
0096599765549
fed_ooo@yahoo.com
Its practical can be applied after use controlled robot with Zinc nanopartical, carbon quantum dots (CQD) and azapthalocyanin solution. Using this nano-solution, with UV light source for 10-20 min in empty place results sterile place and decrease infections between people. The advantage of this procedure over traditional methods is:
A- Safe solution and not hazard.
B- 99.99% effecting in preventing spreading the viruses between people.
C- Have the advantage over traditional methods that other sterilization means lose its power by time.. but my method is enough to be used for one time daily.
D- Not expensive and enough for uses in place contain large number of students in schools, patients , doctors in hospitals and other government offices.
A- Safe solution and not hazard.
B- 99.99% effecting in preventing spreading the viruses between people.
C- Have the advantage over traditional methods that other sterilization means lose its power by time.. but my method is enough to be used for one time daily.
D- Not expensive and enough for uses in place contain large number of students in schools, patients , doctors in hospitals and other government offices.
Reduced healthcare costs
Provider
LifeLabs
Outside the United States
Suset
Silva
Director, Corporate Communications & Community Engagement
647-776-5620
communications@LifeLabs.com
Supporting Canada in a post-COVID world - Improving patient choice, access, and experience
With the ongoing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are constantly working to adapt to the ever-changing health care needs of Canadians. We have had an opportunity to reconsider past traditions and develop creative approaches to meet and exceed the requirements of our new reality. Through innovations such as electronic ordering (eOrdering) for lab testing to replace requisitions and WorkClear, we are helping Canadians access their health care virtually and get back to work safely, when physical distancing is not possible.
With these unprecedented times, innovation becomes imperative. LifeLabs introduced WorkClear, a customized screening and consulting program designed to help organizations in Canada manage and reduce the risk of a COVID-19 transmission within the workplace. Testing is the most effective way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission as up to 40% of infections are asymptomatic. In addition to providing collection and testing services, WorkClear helps streamline the employee health and safety management with supporting processes and technology like symptomatic risk screening, employer dashboards, and reporting to public health. These additional services can further reduce risk and response time associated with COVID-19. For employers that are beginning their journey towards back-to-work or have uniquely complex facilities, WorkClear also offers consulting services to develop a custom risk reduction strategy based on clinical evidence, workflow modelling and cost-benefit analysis.
Through major improvements in our patient portal, we are making it easier for patients to access their testing results and make informed decisions to guide their health care journey. Since 2010, LifeLabs has been the only medical lab in Ontario and BC to offer online appointment booking and secure, virtual access to lab results. As the patient journey evolves due to COVID-19, we are continuing to utilize this technology in improving the patient experience. Each year, over 1.6 million appointments are booked online through the LifeLabs website, we anticipate that this number will continue to grow. LifeLabs also offers Save My Spot, allowing patients to minimize their time in our collection centres by virtually waiting where they want. This technology has become especially important as physical distancing requirements remain in place.
With the ongoing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are constantly working to adapt to the ever-changing health care needs of Canadians. We have had an opportunity to reconsider past traditions and develop creative approaches to meet and exceed the requirements of our new reality. Through innovations such as electronic ordering (eOrdering) for lab testing to replace requisitions and WorkClear, we are helping Canadians access their health care virtually and get back to work safely, when physical distancing is not possible.
With these unprecedented times, innovation becomes imperative. LifeLabs introduced WorkClear, a customized screening and consulting program designed to help organizations in Canada manage and reduce the risk of a COVID-19 transmission within the workplace. Testing is the most effective way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission as up to 40% of infections are asymptomatic. In addition to providing collection and testing services, WorkClear helps streamline the employee health and safety management with supporting processes and technology like symptomatic risk screening, employer dashboards, and reporting to public health. These additional services can further reduce risk and response time associated with COVID-19. For employers that are beginning their journey towards back-to-work or have uniquely complex facilities, WorkClear also offers consulting services to develop a custom risk reduction strategy based on clinical evidence, workflow modelling and cost-benefit analysis.
Through major improvements in our patient portal, we are making it easier for patients to access their testing results and make informed decisions to guide their health care journey. Since 2010, LifeLabs has been the only medical lab in Ontario and BC to offer online appointment booking and secure, virtual access to lab results. As the patient journey evolves due to COVID-19, we are continuing to utilize this technology in improving the patient experience. Each year, over 1.6 million appointments are booked online through the LifeLabs website, we anticipate that this number will continue to grow. LifeLabs also offers Save My Spot, allowing patients to minimize their time in our collection centres by virtually waiting where they want. This technology has become especially important as physical distancing requirements remain in place.
Enhanced the patient experience
Provider
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas
Anoop
Vijayan
Assistant Director, Information Services
832-824-0623
axvijaya@texaschildrens.org
Texas Children’s Hospital receives an average of 5500 referrals for pediatrics each month from providers outside the organization. To be processed appropriately, these referral orders must include key information, such as patient and guardian contact information and demographics, licensed referring provider contact information and NPI, reason for consultation, supporting clinical documentation, and pertinent imaging. Historically, most of these external referral orders were handwritten, faxed, and transcribed into the electronic medical record (EMR) by back-office staff before appointments could be scheduled. When required information was missing or indecipherable, back-office staff contacted the referring provider’s office to obtain and/or verify the information.
In December 2019, Texas Children’s implemented online referral forms for 41 pediatric subspecialty areas. These electronic forms contain all information required to intake a referral, along with expanded sections on symptomatology, current concerns, preferred location, need for expedited visit, and the ability to upload attachments directly into the EMR. Patient and provider instructions are also included. The forms are interfaced into the Epic EMR, with all information landing in the appropriate fields in Epic.
Operational project team members included the Director of TCH’s Physician Resources Center and the Senior Project Manager for Provider Connect. The Provider Connect team is focused on optimizing the referring provider experience by enhancing inter-organizational processes and providing customer service for referring providers. The technical team included an Application Specialist to configure the electronic referral forms in REDCap (including security, survey content, forms, and reports), as well as the corresponding fields in Epic. An Interface Programmer built the interface to send the REDCap referral and attachments into Epic. The Marketing team ensured that all forms and instructions were included on the “Refer a Patient” page on the hospital’s main website (www.texaschildrens.org). In addition to preparing for the initial go-live, this team continues to maintain all aspects of the system to meet the ever-changing needs of our providers and patients.
Nine months after go live, referring providers now submit more than 90% of pediatric referrals using the online forms instead of submitting via fax. This has many benefits: from a quality standpoint, information needed to intake referrals are readily available and legible, and reasons for consultation always align with the EMR’s accepted reasons for referral. The process has also improved efficiency: many referrals never have to be touched by the back-office staff at all, and it is now possible to accurately capture throughput time on all incoming referrals. The total number of staff hours devoted to referral processing has decreased by 38%: from a total of 6650 hours (monthly average of 739 hours) in the first nine months of 2019, to a total of 4126 hours (monthly average of 458 hours) in the first nine months of 2020. (Due to COVID-19, our total incoming referral volume also decreased slightly over this time period, but that decrease in volume only accounts for a portion of the decrease in hours worked). In a volume-agnostic comparison, prior to the implementation of the electronic forms, staff processed an average of 6.0 referrals per worked hour; after implementation of the interface, staff now process an average of 11.2 referrals per worked hour. In early October 2020, Texas Children’s Hospital processed 2000 referrals in a single week; processing that volume of referrals would not have been possible without the interfaced forms. Other children’s hospitals have begun to reach out to Texas Children’s to learn more about our process, as a best practice.
In December 2019, Texas Children’s implemented online referral forms for 41 pediatric subspecialty areas. These electronic forms contain all information required to intake a referral, along with expanded sections on symptomatology, current concerns, preferred location, need for expedited visit, and the ability to upload attachments directly into the EMR. Patient and provider instructions are also included. The forms are interfaced into the Epic EMR, with all information landing in the appropriate fields in Epic.
Operational project team members included the Director of TCH’s Physician Resources Center and the Senior Project Manager for Provider Connect. The Provider Connect team is focused on optimizing the referring provider experience by enhancing inter-organizational processes and providing customer service for referring providers. The technical team included an Application Specialist to configure the electronic referral forms in REDCap (including security, survey content, forms, and reports), as well as the corresponding fields in Epic. An Interface Programmer built the interface to send the REDCap referral and attachments into Epic. The Marketing team ensured that all forms and instructions were included on the “Refer a Patient” page on the hospital’s main website (www.texaschildrens.org). In addition to preparing for the initial go-live, this team continues to maintain all aspects of the system to meet the ever-changing needs of our providers and patients.
Nine months after go live, referring providers now submit more than 90% of pediatric referrals using the online forms instead of submitting via fax. This has many benefits: from a quality standpoint, information needed to intake referrals are readily available and legible, and reasons for consultation always align with the EMR’s accepted reasons for referral. The process has also improved efficiency: many referrals never have to be touched by the back-office staff at all, and it is now possible to accurately capture throughput time on all incoming referrals. The total number of staff hours devoted to referral processing has decreased by 38%: from a total of 6650 hours (monthly average of 739 hours) in the first nine months of 2019, to a total of 4126 hours (monthly average of 458 hours) in the first nine months of 2020. (Due to COVID-19, our total incoming referral volume also decreased slightly over this time period, but that decrease in volume only accounts for a portion of the decrease in hours worked). In a volume-agnostic comparison, prior to the implementation of the electronic forms, staff processed an average of 6.0 referrals per worked hour; after implementation of the interface, staff now process an average of 11.2 referrals per worked hour. In early October 2020, Texas Children’s Hospital processed 2000 referrals in a single week; processing that volume of referrals would not have been possible without the interfaced forms. Other children’s hospitals have begun to reach out to Texas Children’s to learn more about our process, as a best practice.
Reduced healthcare costs
Provider
GoHealth Urgent Care
Georgia
Kelly
Sandberg
Account Executive at Merritt Group (Communications agency for GoHealth Urgent Care)
2038854168
sandberg@merrittgrp.com
In the earliest days of COVID-19, GoHealth Urgent Care, the country’s premier on-demand care platform, saw a nationwide calling to significantly accelerate its innovative approach to care. Through GoHealth’s omnichannel offering that utilizes highly accessible retail care centers and a fully integrated virtual care platform, along with robust and deeply integrated partnership platforms that leverage the breadth and depth of leading health systems across the U.S., the company has supported both patients and their communities, while removing friction from the healthcare ecosystem in this critical time that demands speed and agility. GoHealth does this via its partnership platform that leverages its entrepreneurial, technology-forward, customer-focused approach to healthcare and health system partners’ exceptional clinical quality and expertise, deep community roots and comprehensive care networks.
GoHealth rose to the occasion from the very beginning of the pandemic and demonstrated innovative care on both coasts in the early COVID-19 hotspots. In New York, GoHealth was one of the first ambulatory care networks to provide COVID-19 testing and, by just the third week in March 2020, had already provided 8-10% of the COVID tests nationwide. At the same time on the west coast, GoHealth was the first to launch rapid molecular COVID-19 testing at scale. To-date, GoHealth has performed well over 1 million COVID-19 tests on both coasts, throughout the Midwest and in the Southeastern U.S. as well.
In the past 10 months, GoHealth team members have also provided unparalleled off-site care and testing for over 250 employers and care sites in dire need, including nursing homes, volunteer organizations, first responders and grocery stores. In partnership with San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and United Airlines, GoHealth was the first in the nation to provide rapid testing to airport employees and same-day, pre-flight testing for passengers, supporting the transportation industry’s early recovery and ensuring that those who need to fly can do so as safely as possible.
COVID-19 has presented so many ongoing challenges, but GoHealth has continued to bring a nimble, agile, collaborative and innovative approach to care to ensure that collectively we prevail over COVID-19 and can move forward together in better health.
GoHealth rose to the occasion from the very beginning of the pandemic and demonstrated innovative care on both coasts in the early COVID-19 hotspots. In New York, GoHealth was one of the first ambulatory care networks to provide COVID-19 testing and, by just the third week in March 2020, had already provided 8-10% of the COVID tests nationwide. At the same time on the west coast, GoHealth was the first to launch rapid molecular COVID-19 testing at scale. To-date, GoHealth has performed well over 1 million COVID-19 tests on both coasts, throughout the Midwest and in the Southeastern U.S. as well.
In the past 10 months, GoHealth team members have also provided unparalleled off-site care and testing for over 250 employers and care sites in dire need, including nursing homes, volunteer organizations, first responders and grocery stores. In partnership with San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and United Airlines, GoHealth was the first in the nation to provide rapid testing to airport employees and same-day, pre-flight testing for passengers, supporting the transportation industry’s early recovery and ensuring that those who need to fly can do so as safely as possible.
COVID-19 has presented so many ongoing challenges, but GoHealth has continued to bring a nimble, agile, collaborative and innovative approach to care to ensure that collectively we prevail over COVID-19 and can move forward together in better health.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Penn Medicine
Pennsylvania
Amanda
Lor
Technical Analyst
267-225-2448
Amanda.lor@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Penn Medicine designed a clinical application targeting a more effective medical device management process. We sought to optimize medical device monitoring and troubleshooting to proactively manage our health system’s devices, improve patient outcomes and ensure that real-time data is sent to our electronic health record (EHR). Our VitalCore dashboard meets these goals by displaying an integrated view of clinical devices and speeding up the troubleshooting process for analysts. This results in getting device issues resolved more quickly. Faster resolutions minimize the time clinical staff need to manually document patient vital sign information, leading to time savings and added capabilities for caregivers.
Improved the life of healthcare providers
Provider
StationMD
New Jersey
Maulik
Trivedi MD, FACEP
Chief Strategy Officer & Co-Founder Physician
+1-201-921-3951
maulik.trivedi@stationmd.com
We are excited to submit StationMD for an Innovator Award because we are one of the only—if not the only—telemedicine physician practices in the US that’s dedicated to providing medical care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
COVID-19 has exacerbated health access and delivery challenges for everyone, but especially for people with IDD—like someone with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or autism. This population often has unique health challenges that make them especially at-risk for sickness, and one recent study suggests that individuals with IDD are 3x more likely to die from a COVID-19 infection. In the current environment it’s critically important that extra measures are taken to protect this population.
And that’s what we’ve done. Since the early days of the pandemic, and in less than a year, StationMD’s team of about 30 emergency doctors—all of whom are board-certified and specially trained to treat people with IDD—scaled up capacity to expand from covering 1,300 individuals in three states to covering 25,000 lives in eight states. Our telemedicine services are not only proving lifesaving to people with IDD but it has decreased the burden on an overwhelmed healthcare system.
To give you a bit more context, individuals with IDD often have complex health conditions like diabetes, seizures, cardio-pulmonary irregularities, etc. which make them more susceptible to illness, and the role of caregiving for these individuals frequently falls on family members or direct support professionals (DSPs) who are not medically trained. Often people with IDD cannot always verbalize what medical issue they are experiencing, and they end up in the ER with non-emergent medical issues like a urinary tract infection, a stomach virus or simply for a medication refill.
On top of that, unfortunately, most physicians are never appropriately trained to deliver care to people with IDD. Often for a typical general practitioner or a corner urgent care physician, treating someone with IDD can be overwhelming or even a perceived liability.
And that’s why StationMD is different.
Our virtual medical delivery model—coupled with our training that’s tailored to meet the needs of people with IDD—is closing the healthcare gap for this population in an unprecedented way. Nearly 88% of StationMD’s consultations have resulted in treating the patient’s medical needs without them ever leaving home. By bringing the physician upstream to the patient, we can treat a patient no matter if they live independently, at home with family, or in a group home residence. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the heart of the Bronx or in rural Nebraska, we can take care of them.
Once an individual is enrolled to use StationMD, they can reach a StationMD doctor 24/7. We have digital tools that allow us to listen to heart and lung sounds and see inside the ear, and often we can diagnose the problem with a simple history and physical exam. We can prescribe medicine and coordinate with their primary care physician or the local hospital if the matter is more emergent.
It’s truly an ideal first-line standard of care for this population because it not only reduces everyone’s exposure to COVID-19, it also averts ambulance rides and ER visits, which are expensive and can be disruptive, or even traumatizing, to someone with special needs.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have received countless testimonials from those who have used our services, some explaining that without StationMD’s specialized telemedicine, seeing a doctor would not have been possible because of mandatory quarantine periods following an office visit.
Almost everywhere we serve, local news has picked up a story about the impact we are making for residents in the area with disabilities. To us, this is indicative that what we’re doing is novel and more individuals across the country could be served. As part of our attachments, we have included press clips, user testimonials and a case study so you have a better idea of the value we’re delivering and the improved health outcomes we’re achieving for this population.
Thank you for considering StationMD to receive an Innovator Award. We hope that through your program, people with IDD and those in their care ecosystem will learn that there is an option for immediate high-quality medical care tailored exclusively to meet their needs.
COVID-19 has exacerbated health access and delivery challenges for everyone, but especially for people with IDD—like someone with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or autism. This population often has unique health challenges that make them especially at-risk for sickness, and one recent study suggests that individuals with IDD are 3x more likely to die from a COVID-19 infection. In the current environment it’s critically important that extra measures are taken to protect this population.
And that’s what we’ve done. Since the early days of the pandemic, and in less than a year, StationMD’s team of about 30 emergency doctors—all of whom are board-certified and specially trained to treat people with IDD—scaled up capacity to expand from covering 1,300 individuals in three states to covering 25,000 lives in eight states. Our telemedicine services are not only proving lifesaving to people with IDD but it has decreased the burden on an overwhelmed healthcare system.
To give you a bit more context, individuals with IDD often have complex health conditions like diabetes, seizures, cardio-pulmonary irregularities, etc. which make them more susceptible to illness, and the role of caregiving for these individuals frequently falls on family members or direct support professionals (DSPs) who are not medically trained. Often people with IDD cannot always verbalize what medical issue they are experiencing, and they end up in the ER with non-emergent medical issues like a urinary tract infection, a stomach virus or simply for a medication refill.
On top of that, unfortunately, most physicians are never appropriately trained to deliver care to people with IDD. Often for a typical general practitioner or a corner urgent care physician, treating someone with IDD can be overwhelming or even a perceived liability.
And that’s why StationMD is different.
Our virtual medical delivery model—coupled with our training that’s tailored to meet the needs of people with IDD—is closing the healthcare gap for this population in an unprecedented way. Nearly 88% of StationMD’s consultations have resulted in treating the patient’s medical needs without them ever leaving home. By bringing the physician upstream to the patient, we can treat a patient no matter if they live independently, at home with family, or in a group home residence. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the heart of the Bronx or in rural Nebraska, we can take care of them.
Once an individual is enrolled to use StationMD, they can reach a StationMD doctor 24/7. We have digital tools that allow us to listen to heart and lung sounds and see inside the ear, and often we can diagnose the problem with a simple history and physical exam. We can prescribe medicine and coordinate with their primary care physician or the local hospital if the matter is more emergent.
It’s truly an ideal first-line standard of care for this population because it not only reduces everyone’s exposure to COVID-19, it also averts ambulance rides and ER visits, which are expensive and can be disruptive, or even traumatizing, to someone with special needs.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have received countless testimonials from those who have used our services, some explaining that without StationMD’s specialized telemedicine, seeing a doctor would not have been possible because of mandatory quarantine periods following an office visit.
Almost everywhere we serve, local news has picked up a story about the impact we are making for residents in the area with disabilities. To us, this is indicative that what we’re doing is novel and more individuals across the country could be served. As part of our attachments, we have included press clips, user testimonials and a case study so you have a better idea of the value we’re delivering and the improved health outcomes we’re achieving for this population.
Thank you for considering StationMD to receive an Innovator Award. We hope that through your program, people with IDD and those in their care ecosystem will learn that there is an option for immediate high-quality medical care tailored exclusively to meet their needs.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Penn Medicine
Pennsylvania
Glenn
Fala
Associate CIO, Software Development
215.870.7460
glenn.fala@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
WHAT the challenge was-
To open our campuses safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Pennsylvania and its health system with six hospitals and hundreds of outpatient practices needed to develop an early warning system to identify infected and exposed campus members – 70,000 faculty, staff, and students at risk of transmitting the virus. This warning system would help minimize future spread by preventing individuals with concerning symptoms or recent exposures from coming into contact with others, and when necessary, streamline access to testing, self-isolation guidance, contact tracing, and medical care.
WHO was involved in the innovation-
The program team partnered experts at both the University and the Health System across more than a dozen domains, including clinical care, public health, information technology, innovation, design, behavioral economics, communications, operations, privacy, legal, and human resources. The dedication, hard work, innovative problem solving and spirit of collaboration by the team created a COVID-19 symptom tracking program that has categorically proven itself to improve the safety of everyone in the Penn Medicine community.
WHAT the innovation entailed-
The team’s solution to this challenge was to design, implement, and continuously improve two interconnected, internally developed software products: PennOpen Pass and the Red Pass Management System.
The team decided that the most effective way to keep the campus safe from COVID-19 relied on the earliest possible detection of possible COVID-19 cases. If actual or suspected cases could be identified early and isolated, that would minimize the ability of COVID-19 to spread between members of our community. To accomplish this, the team designed and built PennOpen Pass, an in-house developed web application and SMS text message delivery system that allowed staff to get daily reminders and report if they have any COVID-19 symptoms or if they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The web application was designed to be convenient and easy to use, so that members of our community could quickly complete the survey on their smartphone or any computer with a web browser. From the collected data the team developed dashboards to help monitor trends related to COVID-19, to enable timely allocation of resources for campus health and safety.
If a person does not exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 or has not had a recent exposure, the application produces a "green pass" that must be displayed before entering a University building. If a person does have symptoms or has had a recent exposure, they receive a “red pass” and are directed to receive assistance from a 24-hour call center. The call center staff are trained to advise callers about COVID-19 testing, self-isolation, contact tracing, and medical care.
To help manage those who either have symptoms associated with COVID-19, or who have had an actual or potential exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, the team developed the Red Pass Management System (RPMS). The goal of this system is to help manage the clearance for returning to work or school for red pass recipients. RPMS collects additional data from red pass recipients, such as when an exposure occurred and whether individuals wore a mask or not, providing a summary of each red pass recipient. This product allows the team responsible with assessing each red pass recipient to efficiently triage, advise, and modify a person’s pass status if needed.
HOW it generated results-
From June to December 2020, over 68,000 campus members have enrolled in PennOpen Pass. Over 2.6 million daily surveillance checks had been completed with nearly 19,000 red passes having been issued and managed by the Red Pass Management and PennOpen Pass teams. Exposures account for 51% of the red passes, whereas for those with symptoms, cough (20%), fatigue (18%), and fever (16%) are the most common. Through automation and iterative improvements, we have been able to reduce the median time of red pass clearances from a peak median time of 45 hours in mid-November to 27 hours by the end of December.
This effort also Improved the care of patient populations – The value of this innovation was to enable students, faculty, and staff of the University and Health System to safely return to campus for school and work. As well, it improved the life of healthcare providers – The value of this innovation for healthcare providers was to provide daily screening and decision support for possible COVID-19 infections, and to decrease the risk of occupationally acquired COVID-19.
Supporting Documentation-
• PennOpen Pass: Tracking COVID Symptoms to Reduce Risk: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/internal-newsletters/system-news/2020/november/tracking-covid-symptoms-to-reduce-risk
• PennOpen Pass: https://pennopen.med.upenn.edu/
To open our campuses safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Pennsylvania and its health system with six hospitals and hundreds of outpatient practices needed to develop an early warning system to identify infected and exposed campus members – 70,000 faculty, staff, and students at risk of transmitting the virus. This warning system would help minimize future spread by preventing individuals with concerning symptoms or recent exposures from coming into contact with others, and when necessary, streamline access to testing, self-isolation guidance, contact tracing, and medical care.
WHO was involved in the innovation-
The program team partnered experts at both the University and the Health System across more than a dozen domains, including clinical care, public health, information technology, innovation, design, behavioral economics, communications, operations, privacy, legal, and human resources. The dedication, hard work, innovative problem solving and spirit of collaboration by the team created a COVID-19 symptom tracking program that has categorically proven itself to improve the safety of everyone in the Penn Medicine community.
WHAT the innovation entailed-
The team’s solution to this challenge was to design, implement, and continuously improve two interconnected, internally developed software products: PennOpen Pass and the Red Pass Management System.
The team decided that the most effective way to keep the campus safe from COVID-19 relied on the earliest possible detection of possible COVID-19 cases. If actual or suspected cases could be identified early and isolated, that would minimize the ability of COVID-19 to spread between members of our community. To accomplish this, the team designed and built PennOpen Pass, an in-house developed web application and SMS text message delivery system that allowed staff to get daily reminders and report if they have any COVID-19 symptoms or if they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The web application was designed to be convenient and easy to use, so that members of our community could quickly complete the survey on their smartphone or any computer with a web browser. From the collected data the team developed dashboards to help monitor trends related to COVID-19, to enable timely allocation of resources for campus health and safety.
If a person does not exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 or has not had a recent exposure, the application produces a "green pass" that must be displayed before entering a University building. If a person does have symptoms or has had a recent exposure, they receive a “red pass” and are directed to receive assistance from a 24-hour call center. The call center staff are trained to advise callers about COVID-19 testing, self-isolation, contact tracing, and medical care.
To help manage those who either have symptoms associated with COVID-19, or who have had an actual or potential exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, the team developed the Red Pass Management System (RPMS). The goal of this system is to help manage the clearance for returning to work or school for red pass recipients. RPMS collects additional data from red pass recipients, such as when an exposure occurred and whether individuals wore a mask or not, providing a summary of each red pass recipient. This product allows the team responsible with assessing each red pass recipient to efficiently triage, advise, and modify a person’s pass status if needed.
HOW it generated results-
From June to December 2020, over 68,000 campus members have enrolled in PennOpen Pass. Over 2.6 million daily surveillance checks had been completed with nearly 19,000 red passes having been issued and managed by the Red Pass Management and PennOpen Pass teams. Exposures account for 51% of the red passes, whereas for those with symptoms, cough (20%), fatigue (18%), and fever (16%) are the most common. Through automation and iterative improvements, we have been able to reduce the median time of red pass clearances from a peak median time of 45 hours in mid-November to 27 hours by the end of December.
This effort also Improved the care of patient populations – The value of this innovation was to enable students, faculty, and staff of the University and Health System to safely return to campus for school and work. As well, it improved the life of healthcare providers – The value of this innovation for healthcare providers was to provide daily screening and decision support for possible COVID-19 infections, and to decrease the risk of occupationally acquired COVID-19.
Supporting Documentation-
• PennOpen Pass: Tracking COVID Symptoms to Reduce Risk: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/internal-newsletters/system-news/2020/november/tracking-covid-symptoms-to-reduce-risk
• PennOpen Pass: https://pennopen.med.upenn.edu/
Reduced healthcare costs
Provider
Penn Medicine
Pennsylvania
Jeffrey
Landgraf
Corporate Director Information Services
215- 906-4047
jeffrey.landgraf@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Penn Medicine created a discrete genetics orders and results interface to operate with outside genetics labs. The objective of our project was to allow clinicians and genetic counselors to enter orders within the health system EHR (Epic), and electronically interface them with an outside lab while having the lab interface discrete results back in to the EHR. This interface then transmits discrete results into the EHR, segregating genetic variants which allows clinicians to make informed clinical decisions in order to provide better patient care.
Improved the life of healthcare providers
Provider
Manvata hospital
Outside the United States
Dr. Parmpreet kaur
Bhullar
Physician
+916283041120
Parampreetkaur145@gmail.com
Pandemic effects us several ways, major sector is affected is healthcare sector. Large pile up hospital bills and downfall income sources distrubing people. So i decided to reduce expensess of mu hospital and make a difference as public servant.according to me doctor should only be a only a doctor not a bussiness man who make money or leaching their patient... It is noble profession not a money maker model
Reduced healthcare costs
Provider
Lorma Medical Center
Outside the United States
Rufino Jr
Macagba
Chairman of the board
+619 449 9104
rlmacagba@lorm.edu
THE CHALLENGE OF POOR SERVICE IN ANSWERING PATIENT CALLS. This innovation is probably the only one of its kind in solving this type of problem.. In the 1960s, I was the hospital director of a 50-bed hospital in the Philippines. Some patients complained that their call for a nurse was not answered all night. I found out that the night duty nurse could turn off the nurse call system if she wanted to because the control was located in the nurses station. With a little electrical hobby experience, I was challenged to design a nurse call system that could not be turned off by the nurse on duty.
WHO. SOLVED THE PROBLEM? I did as the hospital director with a little basic electricity experience.
WHAT THE INNOVATION ENTAILED:
Principle .followed. I decided to create a call system that cannot be turned off by the nurse on duty. The monitoring and control box had to be present in a place that was always open -- the hospital information desk..
The monitoring and control box was located at the hospital information desk. A light would indicate who was calling and the information clerk would talk to the patient by intercom and relay the message to the right party (the nurse on duty, the hospital department needed, or the attending doctor wherever he or she was -- even at home or elsewhere.,)
HOW IT GENERATED RESULTS: Inpatient calls are answered in 3-7 seconds. This can be lifesaving when the attending doctor needs to be contacted immediately. When the patient calls it might not require the nurse so the information desk clerk can contact the right person immediately.
WHO. SOLVED THE PROBLEM? I did as the hospital director with a little basic electricity experience.
WHAT THE INNOVATION ENTAILED:
Principle .followed. I decided to create a call system that cannot be turned off by the nurse on duty. The monitoring and control box had to be present in a place that was always open -- the hospital information desk..
The monitoring and control box was located at the hospital information desk. A light would indicate who was calling and the information clerk would talk to the patient by intercom and relay the message to the right party (the nurse on duty, the hospital department needed, or the attending doctor wherever he or she was -- even at home or elsewhere.,)
HOW IT GENERATED RESULTS: Inpatient calls are answered in 3-7 seconds. This can be lifesaving when the attending doctor needs to be contacted immediately. When the patient calls it might not require the nurse so the information desk clerk can contact the right person immediately.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
FineHeart, SA
Outside the United States
Arnaud
Mascarell
CEO
334.663.444
dana@penmanpr.com
Heart failure (HF) is the second leading cause of death in the US and Europe, a global pandemic affecting at least 26 million people worldwide and increasing prevalence. It is a degenerative disease leading to poor quality of life, frequent, costly hospitalizations, and early mortality
The current standard of care for heart failure is guideline-directed medical therapy and device-based interventions in eligible patients. However, many patients experience progressive degradation in their HF status to warrant additional intervention. Consequently, each year, about 200,000 HF patients are forced to wait for their disease to worsen while their health and quality of life deteriorate. The development of new technologies will play a significant role in extending and saving lives while maintaining quality of life.
Addressing the gap in HF patient care, FineHeart, a French medical device company headquartered in Bordeaux, has developed and patented a miniaturized heart pump, ICOMS FLOWMAKER®. The ICOMS holds the potential to treat 200,000 severe heart failure patients annually, initially targeting those eligible for hemodynamic support but not currently being treated by current LVADs, a $5B market with an unmet need.
The ICOMS FLOWMAKER® is the first fully intraventricular flow accelerator that provides physiological support synchronized with the heart’s natural contractions. It pumps in the organic direction of blood flow and, therefore, doesn’t require aortic bypass surgery. FineHeart demonstrates that the protocol for implanting and removing the ICOMS FLOWMAKER® resolves the severe complications associated with implantation of left ventricle assist device (LVAD) surgery, which deteriorates the fragile cardiovascular condition of the patients treated. Today, within two years of implanting a classic LVAD, 80% of patients develop a severe complication that makes them dependent on their assistance device.
The current standard of care for heart failure is guideline-directed medical therapy and device-based interventions in eligible patients. However, many patients experience progressive degradation in their HF status to warrant additional intervention. Consequently, each year, about 200,000 HF patients are forced to wait for their disease to worsen while their health and quality of life deteriorate. The development of new technologies will play a significant role in extending and saving lives while maintaining quality of life.
Addressing the gap in HF patient care, FineHeart, a French medical device company headquartered in Bordeaux, has developed and patented a miniaturized heart pump, ICOMS FLOWMAKER®. The ICOMS holds the potential to treat 200,000 severe heart failure patients annually, initially targeting those eligible for hemodynamic support but not currently being treated by current LVADs, a $5B market with an unmet need.
The ICOMS FLOWMAKER® is the first fully intraventricular flow accelerator that provides physiological support synchronized with the heart’s natural contractions. It pumps in the organic direction of blood flow and, therefore, doesn’t require aortic bypass surgery. FineHeart demonstrates that the protocol for implanting and removing the ICOMS FLOWMAKER® resolves the severe complications associated with implantation of left ventricle assist device (LVAD) surgery, which deteriorates the fragile cardiovascular condition of the patients treated. Today, within two years of implanting a classic LVAD, 80% of patients develop a severe complication that makes them dependent on their assistance device.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Westminster Communities of Florida
Florida
AMANDA
BIRCH
Director of Culture and Quality Initiatives
4438034131
ABIRCH@WSERVICES.ORG
Westminster Communities of Florida residents across the organization are active in eight dimensions of Wellbeing (physical, Lifelong Learning, social, emotional, nutritional, spiritual, vocational, and community) on all of our campuses. Prior to COVID 19, residents across the continuum could be seen doing everything from attending cooking demos and fitness classes to participating in Lifelong Learning educational lectures/discussions.
Enter March 2020 and COVID 19 changed much of what we do as an organization to promote the health and wellbeing of our residents. With little notice, we quickly moved to shut down visits to our Assisted Living and Nursing Home neighborhoods, then followed suit with the cancellation/restriction of visitors to our Independent Living neighborhoods for the protection of our residents and staff.
While we initially continued some activities in independent living with social distancing and enhanced sanitation of surfaces, we quickly stopped those along with service in our dining rooms. Struggling with how to keep our residents from becoming isolated and encouraging maintenance of social connections and physical health, our team worked around the clock to embrace the use of technology. Some of which was in use prior to COVID 19, but certainly not to the extent we use these tools today.
Enter March 2020 and COVID 19 changed much of what we do as an organization to promote the health and wellbeing of our residents. With little notice, we quickly moved to shut down visits to our Assisted Living and Nursing Home neighborhoods, then followed suit with the cancellation/restriction of visitors to our Independent Living neighborhoods for the protection of our residents and staff.
While we initially continued some activities in independent living with social distancing and enhanced sanitation of surfaces, we quickly stopped those along with service in our dining rooms. Struggling with how to keep our residents from becoming isolated and encouraging maintenance of social connections and physical health, our team worked around the clock to embrace the use of technology. Some of which was in use prior to COVID 19, but certainly not to the extent we use these tools today.
Enhanced the patient experience
Provider
Stanford Children's Health
California
Geoffrey
Hart-Cooper
Medical Director, Virtual PrEP Program for Adolescents and Young Adults
6503424145
ghartcooper@stanfordchildrens.org
HIV disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, especially sexual, gender, and racial/ethnic minorities. The lifetime risk of acquiring HIV for a man who has sex with men is 1 in 6, and can be as high as 1 in 2 for African American men, and 1 in 4 for Hispanic men. In California, one in five new HIV diagnoses are among adolescents and young adults younger than 25 years old.
In California, over one in five new HIV diagnoses are among adolescents and young adults younger than 25 years with racial, ethnic, and sexual minority populations disproportionately affected. The lifetime risk of acquiring HIV for African American gay and bisexual men is estimated to be 50%.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill that lowers the risk of HIV infection by more than 99%, and is an essential tool to end the HIV epidemic. However, a variety of patient-, provider-, and system-level barriers have limited uptake among adolescents and young adults. In California, patients aged 13-24 years have the greatest unmet PrEP need compared to any other age group. Providing access to a trained youth-focused PrEP provider is essential to curb HIV rates among adolescents and young adults.
The Virtual PrEP Program for Adolescents and Young Adults is the first adolescent-focused program in the country developed to increase access to PrEP. Through virtual visits, we bring a pediatric or adolescent provider to any patient 25 and younger living in California – serving those with greatest need regardless of geographic location. Our program includes a robust patient support system led by a team of Stanford medical and physician assistant students (known as PrEP Navigators) that provides frequent check-ins, adherence support, and navigates medication payment assistance programs.
We fit PrEP care into our patients’ lives and privacy needs through free and confidential virtual visits that minimize transportation barriers and time lost from school or work. Our patients connect with us from anywhere, which has included the beach, in the middle of a shift at a fast food restaurant, a school bathroom, or in a parked car.
To date, we have received 46 referrals to our program from throughout California, and completed 45 patient visits. After launching the Virtual PrEP Program, we increased the number of PrEP prescriptions within Stanford Children’s Health from 2.0 new PrEP prescriptions per 10,000 patients to 5.1 (p=0.045). Press coverage of our program has reached 232 news outlets and resulted in five original articles, and we have presented the program widely to showcase the intersection of health equity and digital health innovation. We have advised several academic medical centers and public health jurisdictions interested in developing similar programs in Florida, Washington, Texas and South Carolina.
In California, over one in five new HIV diagnoses are among adolescents and young adults younger than 25 years with racial, ethnic, and sexual minority populations disproportionately affected. The lifetime risk of acquiring HIV for African American gay and bisexual men is estimated to be 50%.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill that lowers the risk of HIV infection by more than 99%, and is an essential tool to end the HIV epidemic. However, a variety of patient-, provider-, and system-level barriers have limited uptake among adolescents and young adults. In California, patients aged 13-24 years have the greatest unmet PrEP need compared to any other age group. Providing access to a trained youth-focused PrEP provider is essential to curb HIV rates among adolescents and young adults.
The Virtual PrEP Program for Adolescents and Young Adults is the first adolescent-focused program in the country developed to increase access to PrEP. Through virtual visits, we bring a pediatric or adolescent provider to any patient 25 and younger living in California – serving those with greatest need regardless of geographic location. Our program includes a robust patient support system led by a team of Stanford medical and physician assistant students (known as PrEP Navigators) that provides frequent check-ins, adherence support, and navigates medication payment assistance programs.
We fit PrEP care into our patients’ lives and privacy needs through free and confidential virtual visits that minimize transportation barriers and time lost from school or work. Our patients connect with us from anywhere, which has included the beach, in the middle of a shift at a fast food restaurant, a school bathroom, or in a parked car.
To date, we have received 46 referrals to our program from throughout California, and completed 45 patient visits. After launching the Virtual PrEP Program, we increased the number of PrEP prescriptions within Stanford Children’s Health from 2.0 new PrEP prescriptions per 10,000 patients to 5.1 (p=0.045). Press coverage of our program has reached 232 news outlets and resulted in five original articles, and we have presented the program widely to showcase the intersection of health equity and digital health innovation. We have advised several academic medical centers and public health jurisdictions interested in developing similar programs in Florida, Washington, Texas and South Carolina.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Sarvodaya Infotech Pvt Ltd
Outside the United States
Aashish
Kaushal
Sr. Operational Head
8221964901
aashish.k@sarvodayainfotech.com
Got Recognized by many international Conferences and Webinar
Reduced healthcare costs
Provider
Emovi
Outside the United States
Michelle
Laflamme
CEO
334.663.4424
dana@penmanpr.com
Headquartered in Montreal, Emovi is a medical device company that develops products for knee joint assessment to restore the patients’ quality of life. Their flagship device, the KneeKGTM, is the first clinically validated tool specifically designed to meet the global needs of clinicians for objective and quantified diagnosis of biomechanical markers in order to define appropriate biomechanical interventions.
Knee anatomy is remarkable in its complexity. Traditionally considered the body’s workhorse, its limited range of motion and heavy loads makes the knee joint prone to instabilities and injuries. With one out of five people in the United States suffering knee pain, the causes are as diverse as the individuals who suffer.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis of knee pain has not changed much in years. It typically begins with a physical examination of the knee for swelling, pain, tenderness, warmth, and range of motion. Specialized tests can be used to evaluate joint integrity and stability, but the validity of these tests are modest for an accurate diagnosis. Although imaging is a routine part of most assessment plans, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs only offer the clinician a static view of the joint. They do not provide the clinician with an understanding of the functional implications of the abnormal conditions.
It is for this reason that biomechanical assessments have become an essential component of knee examination. When patient-specific biomechanical factors are carefully considered, interventions can have a more powerful impact.
A new knee assessment tool, the KneeKG, allows health care professionals to perform a Knee Kinesiography to accurately and objectively evaluate the complete movement of the patients’ knee to understand pain and symptoms. In essence, much like an electrocardiogram does for the heart. Within 15 minutes, using Emovi’s proprietary AI-TX Module, the KneeKG provides a 3D dynamic assessment of the knee. It pinpoints functional deficits linked to knee osteoarthritis, ligament injuries, instabilities, and anterior knee pain to aid in diagnosing pathologic patterns and provide objective information to develop a focused treatment strategy.
Used in a continuum of care, the KneeKGTM has demonstrated the ability to identify the mechanism of pain allowing healthcare professionals to address identified biomechanical markers to achieve pain reduction, improvement in treatment and surgery outcomes, and improvement in patient’s satisfaction and quality of life.
Knee anatomy is remarkable in its complexity. Traditionally considered the body’s workhorse, its limited range of motion and heavy loads makes the knee joint prone to instabilities and injuries. With one out of five people in the United States suffering knee pain, the causes are as diverse as the individuals who suffer.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis of knee pain has not changed much in years. It typically begins with a physical examination of the knee for swelling, pain, tenderness, warmth, and range of motion. Specialized tests can be used to evaluate joint integrity and stability, but the validity of these tests are modest for an accurate diagnosis. Although imaging is a routine part of most assessment plans, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs only offer the clinician a static view of the joint. They do not provide the clinician with an understanding of the functional implications of the abnormal conditions.
It is for this reason that biomechanical assessments have become an essential component of knee examination. When patient-specific biomechanical factors are carefully considered, interventions can have a more powerful impact.
A new knee assessment tool, the KneeKG, allows health care professionals to perform a Knee Kinesiography to accurately and objectively evaluate the complete movement of the patients’ knee to understand pain and symptoms. In essence, much like an electrocardiogram does for the heart. Within 15 minutes, using Emovi’s proprietary AI-TX Module, the KneeKG provides a 3D dynamic assessment of the knee. It pinpoints functional deficits linked to knee osteoarthritis, ligament injuries, instabilities, and anterior knee pain to aid in diagnosing pathologic patterns and provide objective information to develop a focused treatment strategy.
Used in a continuum of care, the KneeKGTM has demonstrated the ability to identify the mechanism of pain allowing healthcare professionals to address identified biomechanical markers to achieve pain reduction, improvement in treatment and surgery outcomes, and improvement in patient’s satisfaction and quality of life.
Improved the care of patient populations
Provider
Medical City Lewisville
Texas
David
Rivera
Director of Acute and Critical Care
469-370-2121
David.Rivera2@MedicalCityHealth.com
Dave’s most recent and notable service involves Code Tele which provides the telemetry technician with control and authority to ensure the telemetry monitor is placed on the patient and functioning properly. When the telemetry technician observes the patient is off the telemetry monitor, the telemetry technician will call the primary nurse assigned to the patient and a two-minute timer begins. If the patient’s primary nurse does not respond within the first two-minutes, the telemetry technician notifies the unit charge nurse and the two-minute timeframe starts over. If the charge nurse does not respond within those two-minutes, the telemetry technician calls a Code Tele within iMobile, a secure, wireless cell phone technology used for communicating between staff. This accountability process ensures the telemetry technician is supported and most importantly, the patient is safely monitored at all times.
Improved the care of patient populations