How a provider-tech collab aims to refine patient monitoring

Advancements in virtual care have enabled healthcare provider organizations to improve clinical outcomes and patient and provider experience in the inpatient settings. Technologies that enable remote patient monitoring are especially effective at helping organizations achieve these goals by providing real-time insights into patient health and reducing inpatient monitoring burdens. As a result, numerous health systems are turning to RPM technology to improve inpatient care.

In the last few months alone, health systems like Cleveland Clinic and Houston Methodist have expanded RPM capabilities within their hospitals. Now, Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health joins them, signing a multiyear RPM collaboration with Philips to bring the benefits of these tools to patients across its 49 hospitals.

Data shows that healthcare executives are eager to invest in RPM. A May 2023 survey of 141 executives shows that most believe RPM programs have improved patient outcomes (94%) and yielded a positive return on investment (73%).

However, health systems must be strategic to succeed in their RPM efforts. For Bon Secours Mercy Health, this meant making considered decisions about vendor selection and technology implementation processes.

What the RPM collaboration will include

In 2018, Bon Secours and Mercy Health merged to form Bon Secours Mercy Health, making it one of the largest Catholic health systems in the country. As part of the merger, leaders looked to standardize technologies and workflow processes across the new, more extensive system.

"We had all different companies and different facilities ... So, our goal is to standardize as much equipment and technology as we can, so our nurses aren't jumping from one [platform] to the other," said Jodi Pahl, chief nursing officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health, in an interview.

Thus, the new collaboration with Philips aims to deploy standardized inpatient monitoring solutions systemwide. The solutions will include the Philips VS30 Vital Signs machines, which can transmit vital signs data directly into the health system's Epic EMR system.

Additionally, Bon Secours Mercy Health plans to deploy wave strip export capabilities. These capabilities allow strips with telemetry waveforms to be uploaded into the EMR, supporting quicker and more accurate clinical decision-making at the site of care, Pahl explained. Without these capabilities, the wave strips have to be printed out and scanned into the EMR at the end of each day, causing bottlenecks.

Further, the health system will eliminate 400 servers and reduce IT domains from 50 to 10 as part of the collaboration, as well as add alarm management capabilities.

"What's great about the alarm management is we'll have the analytics on the backend," Pahl said. "So, we'll have insights into how many alarms, how long it takes us to get there ... And then we will, in this process, we'll standardize workflows."

The partnership also includes plans to update and replace patient monitoring technology as needed over the next 10 years.

Currently, the new technologies will be implemented in the inpatient setting alone, but Pahl said the health system plans to examine whether there are opportunities for using some of the solutions in the outpatient setting as well.

Selecting the right vendor

A critical aspect of any RPM-based collaboration is selecting a vendor that meets the health provider's needs.

Pahl noted that the Bon Secours Mercy Health nursing team played a crucial role in the decision to partner with Philips. The health system brought in different tools and let the nurses decide.

Philips won the contract for numerous reasons, not least of which is its long history of providing easy-to-use solutions.

"I've been a nurse for over 30 years, and I utilized Philips for the majority of those years, and it really is about user-friendliness," Pahl said.

She added that the company offers vital support during and after technology implementation. For instance, Philips has created a team dedicated to the Bon Secours Mercy Health collaboration to provide comprehensive technical support.

They've also brought in an alarm specialist to support the health system's alarm management team in analyzing the data generated through the new capabilities. This will allow Bon Secours' care teams to make informed decisions about resource management and patient care and avoid alarm fatigue.

Ensuring a seamless implementation

The new technology will be implemented over three years, Pahl noted. The health system has divided its facilities into three groups based on geographic region. They have also created three teams in charge of the implementation in each group.

"We're on calls twice a week already," she said. "We've started this process of looking who needed to go first. It was based on equipment -- the age of the equipment and what software was needed. So, we took a lot of items into account in deciding who got to go first, second, and third."

Though survey-based research has shown that most provider-vendor partnerships for RPM programs are successful, with a majority of healthcare executives saying they are unlikely to switch partners, Bon Secours Mercy Health is taking some steps to ensure a seamless transition to the new technology.

First, an HR representative has been assigned to help the teams with the change management aspect of the technology integration, Pahl said.

For example, there has been some impatience with the three-year implementation plan, and the HR representative has been able to help health system leaders manage the clinical staff's expectations.

"We've been able to walk through why the decisions were made," she said. "When you change processes, you're going to have to unfreeze how they've been doing what they've been doing and get them to understand why this is the best for our patients and for our caregivers."

Second, the health system has conducted workflow process analysis and piloted the technology in two facilities.

"So, we've already completed walkthroughs on what's working well and what could be better," she said.

Pahl noted that there might be some bumps along the road; however, she believes that the Bon Secours Mercy Health and Philips teams will be able to work through those together. Not only that, but the collaboration hopes to pave the way for further innovation in the health system.

"How can we do this better? How can we do this even safer? How can we give even better quality of care than we already give?" Pahl said.

To remain competitive in an increasingly digitized healthcare landscape, health systems like Bon Secours Mercy Health must stay focused on innovation. Partnering with a trusted technology vendor is vital to ensuring that the health system can continue to boost clinical outcomes and the healthcare delivery experience.

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.