Program Integrates Data Patients Collect at Home with Medical Records
The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, has launched a pioneering program to support a re-designed care delivery system. Patient data collected at home, including vital signs such as blood pressure, weight and blood glucose, are now being transmitted electronically and viewable through the Partners HealthCare medical records system, making this important data accessible within the established clinical workflow. Partners’ healthcare providers are now able to easily and seamlessly access personal health data for patients enrolled in connected health programs, which is transmitted securely via computer, smartphone or tablet to the Center’s remote monitoring database. The Center for Connected Health creates and validates technology-enabled solutions that empower patients and providers to transform healthcare, developing innovations that facilitate collaborative care, self-management and improved quality.
“By linking the Center’s remote monitoring database to the Partners medical record system, we are taking an important step towards continuous chronic disease management. This is a significant part of how we are working to change care delivery, putting the patient at the center of their care while maintaining a close watch on their condition when they are not in the hospital or doctor’s office,” said James Noga, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Partners HealthCare. “With a vision to the future, Partners has been committed to connected health for over a decade. As a result, we have created one of the most robust remote monitoring platforms of any large healthcare system, and are well-positioned to incorporate patient-initiated data into healthcare decision-making.”
Remotely monitored data is now viewable on the same computer screen as the patient’s other health data. This gives Partners clinicians a more complete picture of the patient’s condition, even while the patient is at home, while protecting the privacy and security of confidential patient information.
“What makes this program unique is that Partners is, I believe, the first to seamlessly integrate patient-collected data into their medical record system using their own proprietary technology platform, making it far easier and faster for their clinicians to access this important data. This is the next generation of patient management,” noted Christopher Wasden, Managing Director, Global Healthcare Innovation Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Partners HealthCare and the Center for Connected Health are at the forefront of changing care delivery by applying technology to assist providers, empower patients and elevate the standards for patient care.”
Vital signs and other patient data collected at home are securely transmitted to the Center’s remote monitoring database, which currently stores over 1.2 million patient vital signs. For the first time, this data is now displayed in the patient’s medical record, enabling providers throughout the Partners network to quickly and easily access this patient data and streamline clinical workflow. Patients can also monitor their own health data via the Partners secure patient portal, Patient Gateway.
“The care team now has a more comprehensive view of a patient’s condition, seeing that individual’s day-to-day vital signs, real-time response to medications and other important indicators of his or her health available through our remote monitoring programs,” added Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Founder and Director, Center for Connected Health. “At the Center, we have demonstrated the value of monitoring patients when they are outside the hospital or doctor’s office and can now seamlessly integrate this information into the clinical workflow to help improve patient care and efficiencies.”
Patients regularly collecting and submitting their vital signs enable providers to more effectively assess the patient’s status and provide just-in-time care. The Center’s Blood Pressure Connect program is one example of how Partners is using technology to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
“Connected health programs are holding patients more accountable for their health, and providers are more accountable because we now have access to their data all the time,” said Kerie Johnson, RN, Care Manager, North Shore Physicians Group, Partners HealthCare. “I am a firm believer in prevention. If we can intervene with a chronic condition sooner, like hypertension or diabetes, we can help patients make the necessary lifestyle changes to reduce the need for medication and ease the impact of chronic disease overall. Many of our patients have been able to lower their blood pressure due to better awareness of their condition and lifestyle changes as a result of their participation in Blood Pressure Connect.”