TN Hospital Operator Launches Remote Patient Monitoring Program

A collaboration between Cadence and Ardent Health Services will add a remote patient monitoring (RPM) program to Ardent’s facilities across six states, allowing patients to obtain remote care for chronic conditions from their homes.

The recent rapid expansion of telehealth and virtual care technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the rise of RPM services.

A study published last March found that a remote patient monitoring program was successful in keeping most COVID-19 patients out of the hospital. Following an analysis of over 1,000 COVID-19 patients, researchers found that only 6.2 percent needed hospitalization, and 1.2 percent needed to be admitted to the intensive care unit.

In the new collaboration between Cadence and Ardent Health Services, the organizations aim to deliver consistent care by collecting and analyzing patient vitals to improve chronic condition outcomes.

Cadence, a health technology company, will provide Ardent facilities with the RPM tools and services needed to remotely care for patients. Ardent Health Services operates 30 hospitals and about 200 sites of care in six states. Initially rolled out at Utica Park Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the partnership intends to deploy the program within several markets through the next year.

“At Ardent, we're looking at everything through the lens of the consumer – putting people at the center of the care model,” said Marty Bonick, Ardent’s president and CEO, in a press release. “Health care is complex, but doing things the way we've always done them doesn't serve our patients or caregivers. Our partnership with Cadence embodies our purpose of caring for others by putting in place the technology and clinical protocols to deliver better care, alleviate unnecessary burdens on our clinicians, and improve the overall healthcare experience across all touchpoints.”

The program currently offers RPM support for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and diabetes. However, it will expand to launch services for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients later in 2023.

“Ardent and Cadence share a passion for using technology to create compelling patient experiences that improve the quality of patients’ lives. Ardent has a strong track record of using technology to alleviate administrative burden on physicians, which Cadence will further accelerate,” said Chris Altchek, Cadence’s CEO and founder, in the press release. “Consistent monitoring and intervention as needed amongst patients battling chronic conditions has shown the ability to increase the number of patients achieving guidelines by 5x and reduce unnecessary emergency department visits by 50 percent. We believe this is only the beginning of the positive impact from our partnership with Ardent.”

RPM programs that tackle chronic conditions are becoming more common at clinical locations across the country.

For instance, an remote patient monitoring program announced in September aimed to treat chronic conditions such as hypertension and heart failure. Created by Watertown Regional Medical Center in Wisconsin, the program included a partnership with Cadence, leveraging devices such as blood pressure monitors and weight scales.

In December, Baptist Health announced that it would use TytoCare solutions to perform remote physical examinations. The solutions are part of the company's handheld examination kit that allows users to engage in remote exams that evaluate the heart, skin, ears, throat, abdomen, and lungs.