by Joe Wall, Marketing Director, BANYAN Medical Systems
No doubt, telemedicine has steadily gained momentum over the past several years—so much so that it has grown into a virtual care delivery model for hospitals and health systems. When the novel coronavirus hit, the adoption of virtual care use skyrocketed: it became the safest and most compassionate way to treat patients in the acute and post-acute care continuum.
Now that healthcare systems, urgent care clinics and physician practices have adjusted to the delivery of virtual care, they’re realizing what early adopters have known for years: virtual care delivery is an efficient way to close care gaps, improve quality of care and increase patient and provider satisfaction.
The ability to deliver virtual care is transformative in many ways—during the pandemic and beyond.
1. Top-of-License Practice
With increased hospital patient acuity and increased nurse responsibilities at the bedside, virtual nurses augment beside care delivery with high-fidelity two-way interactions to facilitate non-hands-on care through six core roles:
§ Patient education
§ Staff mentoring/education
§ Real time quality/patient safety surveillance
§ Physician rounding
§ Admission activities
§ Discharge activities
BANYAN’s Virtual Care platform enables nurses to work differently and more efficiently with decreased distractions and interruptions at the bedside, while delivering a highly personalized experience for patients. The virtual nurse provides frequent meaningful interactions with patients and families while assessing and educating on the admission and discharge continuum of care.
A study published in Nursing Administration Quarterly evaluated the effects of implementing a virtual care team in the acute care setting. It found that the model that used 24/7 virtual nurses experienced measurable improvements in patient and staff satisfaction, length of stay and decreased labor costs, among other benefits.
2. Expert Chronic Care Management
Telemedicine introduced many outreach opportunities to patients with chronic conditions. The next-generation virtual care model has expanded support across the continuum of care, thereby reducing care gaps and providing continual oversite and patient engagement in the plan of care.
Virtual chronic care management (CCM) allows patients to meet regularly, from the comfort and safety of their home, with their virtual care management team. The virtual care management team coordinates monthly with their specialists and primary care physician.
3. Nursing Culture – Job Satisfaction
Virtually Integrated Nursing Care has consistently demonstrated excellent clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction. The redesigned care team transforms communication and collaboration patterns among multidisciplinary staff, creating a foundation of culture that is receptive to change. This shift allows healthcare organizations to evolve from quality improvement projects to sustainable change needed and/or required to address the increased acuity and complex patient cares with limited resources for improved quality outcomes.
What BANYAN Offers
BANYAN understands the challenges healthcare organizations face as they work overtime to keep patients and staff safe while providing the highest quality care. BANYAN has enabled over 500 rooms with virtual care during this emergency.
More importantly, BANYAN is providing its virtual care platform with no upfront costs to eligible hospitals awarded funding in the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, providing them with the opportunity to expand their virtual care programs for the future and “new normal.”
Banyan is offering hardware and software needed to virtualize up to 5 patient rooms at no cost with a five-year term, plus emergency pricing of $150 per room, per month for each additional patient room. Funding expires 6.31.2020.
How BANYAN Virtual Care Works in the Hospital
§ Medical staff interacts with patients from workstations outside the room
§ More centralized “medical specialists” in hospitals can interact with patient as needed
§ Less in-room visits with more patient interaction through our platform
§ BANYAN’s digital hospital professionals can supplement on-site staff
How BANYAN Virtual Care Works in the Hospital Room
§ Reduce hospital staff exposure risk
§ Reduce the use of personal protection equipment
§ Enable supplemental virtual care services when needed
What We Deliver
§ In room: BANYAN Bridge with two-way audio-video communication
§ In hospital: Workstation software for healthcare provider for patient interaction
§ Hardware and software installation services and on-going support
Optional Features
§ BANYAN’s virtual clinical staff (nurses, safety companions, case managers, social workers)
§ Healthcare-specific task coordination technology (enabled by its Enterprise Workflow Manager software)
Call 402-661-0718 to schedule a 30 minute call with BANYAN’s CNO on how to leverage turnkey technology and clinical expertise to achieve improved quality outcomes while decreasing cost. You can also review our solution details: www.banyanmed.com/telehealth
References
Williams AM, Bhatti UF, Alam HB, Nikolian VC. The role of telemedicine in postoperative care. Mhealth. 2018;4:11. Published 2018 May 2. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2018.04.03
Schuelke S, Aurit S, Connot N, Denney S. Virtual Nursing: The New Reality in Quality Care. Nurs Adm Q. 2019;43(4):322‐328. doi:10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000376