Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are required to self-isolate until the infection is cleared which is often for two weeks. Some of these patients may be at risk for complications where they will need support at home in a comprehensive way.
Providing this support is the goal of Mayo Clinic’s Remote Patient Monitoring Program https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org. This program led by Mayo Clinic’s Center for Connected Care, uses medical technology and devices that are sent to patients’ homes so vital signs and symptom assessments can be screened every day.
A team of Remote Patient Monitoring nurses regularly monitors the data and contacts patients to assess health and progress toward health goals. The program was developed to support patients with complex chronic conditions.
As part of the Remote Patient Monitoring Program, two tracks were developed for patients with COVID-19, one for patients with comorbidities at moderate to high risk for complications and the other to track lower risk patients.
Patients who are enrolled in the high risk program receive a remote patient monitoring kit that includes a blood pressure cuff, thermometer, pulse oximeter, and a weight scale. They use these devices two to four times a day to measure their vital signs. Patients who at lower risk for complications record their vital signs using the Mayo Clinic app. The measurements are sent automatically to the Mayo Clinic through a cellular-enabled tablet that patients receive with their kits.
Tufia Haddad, MD Medical Director, Center for Connected Care’s Remote Patient Monitoring Team reports, “Anytime that a patient is reporting new or worsening symptoms or if any of their vital sign parameters are out of range or trending adversely, an automated alert will go to our remote nurses monitoring patients. The nurses will check in with the patient and in some cases, they will connect via video to COVID-19 team physicians to determine if further escalation is needed.”