Ochsner Health System www.ochsner.org introduced connected “Maternity Online Monitoring” (MOM), a digital medicine program to allow expectant mothers to use advanced wireless technology to manage prenatal health. Ochsner is the only hospital in the Gulf South region in Louisiana to offer this convenient technology to their patients.
This prenatal care model enables prenatal care where expectant mothers can stay connected with their OB care team virtually through digital tools, which can reduce by three or more in-person visits and thereby provide greater flexibility and convenience for expectant mothers and their doctors.
Participating expectant mothers receive a wireless scale, wireless blood pressure cuff, and a home urine protein test kit. Through the use of a smartphone, patients can easily send their weight, blood pressure readings, and urine protein test results digitally in real-time from the comfort of their own home. More than 100 mothers in the South Gulf region have participated in Ochsner’s program to date.
Expectant mothers send their results directly to their “MyOCHSNER” account, the system’s online patient portal which connects directly to the patient’s EMR. A specialized connected MOM care team comprised of the patient’s obstetrician, health coach, and a technical support specialist review the data, and then provide medical recommendations as needed.
Connected MOM was designed by “innovationOchsner” (iO) www.innoationochsner.com in partnership with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Ochsner Baptist in an accelerator formed by Ochsner in 2015.
Ochsner Health System is Louisiana’s largest non-profit academic healthcare system. Coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner’s 30 owned, managed, and affiliated hospitals plus more than 80 health centers and urgent care centers.
The use of the technology has been recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as the standard prenatal care model for low risk pregnancies. The digital health program created by iO has also been recognized for this approach to patient care by the Office of the National Coordinator at HHS, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Medical School.