Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1476979
56 INNOVATION Mass General Brigham plans huge expansion of remote patient monitoring By Giles Bruce B oston-based Mass General Brigham has appointed a new executive to lead a vast expansion of its remote patient monitoring, the health system said July 11. Heather O'Sullivan was named Mass General Brigham's in- augural president of home-based care. The health system plans to grow its hospital-at-home program from 25 pa- tients today to more than 200 in the next 2½ years to save money and better manage capacity, the Boston Globe re- ported July 11. "Due to the COVID pandemic and the evolving needs of our community, we have seen an accelerated demand for home hospital offerings," Gregg Meyer, MD, president of the community division and executive vice president of value-based care for Mass General Brigham, said in a news release from the health system. "We are dedicated to placing patients at the center of everything we do, no matter where they are, and the future of healthcare is in the home." Ms. O'Sullivan previously served as executive vice president and chief clinical innovation officer for Kin- dred at Home. The program will start with patients who leave the hos- pital after an operation and expand to patients who are referred to an "at-home" hospital bed through the emer- gency room or their physician, the Globe reported. They will be treated via virtual appointments and in-person visits from paramedics and other providers. The new initiative will require an additional 200 employees to be hired over the next 12 months. n Penn Medicine, Optum Labs fund 10 innovation projects By Naomi Diaz P hiladelphia-based Penn Medicine's Center for Health Care In- novation and University of Pennsylvania's Leonard Davis Insti- tute of Health Economics will fund 10 one-year projects aimed at creating innovation for healthcare delivery. e funding for this initiative comes from a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and Optum Labs, the research and de- velopment arm of UnitedHealth Group, to support activity toward shared goals in research, training, patient care, community health and innovation. e 10 projects receiving funding: 1. E-consults: A randomized control study that will evaluate the effectiveness of electronic-consults compared to face-to-face consults. 2. Postpartum care in the NICU: A pilot randomized controlled trial that will assess doula and midwife intervention to see if it can improve maternal outcomes. 3. Intervention for pregnant patients: e project will develop a web-based screening for social determinants of health for preg- nant patients. e screening will be completed on tablet comput- ers in the waiting room before the visit to help clinicians deter- mine patients who may be facing social determinant challenges. 4. Hybrid technology-enabled care for abnormal uterine bleeding: is project will look at how to incorporate apps and telehealth to expedite the care of patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. 5. STI screening in pediatric care: e project will implement elec- tronic questionnaires before visits, clinical decision support sys- tems and behavioral nudges within the EHR system to increase STI screening for pediatric patients. 6. Access to oncology care: is project will develop a pa- tient-scheduling triage algorithm to prioritize new patient visits by type based on medical versus surgical and urgency of treat- ment. 7. Texting program post-discharge: A 30-day automated texting platform to facilitate communication between patients and cli- nicians aer they have been discharged. 8. Genetic and genomic data within the EHR: A one-year project that will support the development of a central website, educa- tional materials and other tools to advocate for genetic and ge- nomic data integration within the EHR system. 9. EHR reminders for iron deficiency anemia: A study to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating clinical practice guideline recom- mendations into the EHR for iron deficiency anemia. 10. Improving inpatient sleep for neurology patients: e project will test a pilot intervention using noninvasive devices for vital sign measurement and blood collection. e intervention aims at allowing clinical teams to safely care for patients overnight. n