Marshfield Clinic to Use Remote Monitoring Platform for CHF Patients

Wisconsin’s Marshfield Clinic Health System will be using a remote patient monitoring platform to improve care management at home for patients with congestive heart failure.

The Wisconsin-based health system will be equipping selected patients in its Heart Failure Improvement Clinic (HFIC) with a telehealth platform and mHealth devices so that those patients can self-monitor at home and collaborate with their care team at any time.

"The … telehealth technology allows us to provide care for our congestive heart failure patients who live in rural areas and face long drives to receive care,” Dr. Narayana Murali, Marshfield’s Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Strategy Officer, said in a press release. “With lengthy Wisconsin winters and inclement weather, eliminating unnecessary physician visits is another way for us to use innovation to provide the best care for our patients and reduce their health care costs.”

The health system is partnering with Health Recovery Solutions on the program. Participating patients will receive a 4G tablet with preloaded software, as well as Bluetooth-enabled digital health devices – including a digital stethoscope - that will enable them to monitor their blood pressure, heart rate, weight and other vital signs. That data is automatically transmitted through the tablet to the patient’s care team.

The program will initially target HFIC patients who’ve needed IV diuretics to deal with an exacerbation. Those patients are more likely to experience health issues at home that would lead to an ER visit or even rehospitalization.

Through the program, the health system is aiming to track those patients on a daily basis and intervene before any health issue becomes serious enough to require emergency care.

Many healthcare providers are moving to adopt RPM platforms to monitor chronic care patients at home, with the twin goals of reducing rehospitalizations and improving the patient’s health and wellness outcomes.

They’re also getting support from the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services, which this year added reimbursement opportunities for some RPM services.