TRU is using telehealth technology (TRU Tele-Care) to safely and effectively deliver uninterrupted care to individuals living with advanced illness and loss, some of the community’s most vulnerable populations.
TRU has deployed dozens of telehealth tablets to palliative care and hospice patients to enable real-time data exchange, proactively manage a patient’s disease progression over time, and make it easier for patients and families living with complex and chronic illness to remotely communicate with health care providers, TRU, and one another. Patients answer daily questions in one of 22 disease-specific clinical pathways, customizable to each patient so that questions, alerts, and educational materials are uniquely targeted to each individual.
The platform facilitates daily virtual monitoring and interaction between the patient and a TRU nurse and/or provider and allows clinical staff to respond immediately to any concerning data points with a video call. This virtual care approach is in keeping with today’s social distancing recommendations and is aligned with TRU’s philosophy of enabling patients to remain comfortably in their homes or the facilities where they reside while receiving the care they require. The platform also facilitates visits between TRU’s Tele-Care patients, specialists, and remote family members.
TRU has also deployed tablets to multiple hospital and facility partners to enable tele-admissions, host virtual patient/family visits, and even conduct virtual rounds and consultations. Many hospitals, assisted living, and long-term care facilities have had to limit, if not eliminate, visitors. TRU Tele-Care allows for seamless and uninterrupted care and communication while adhering to restrictions put in place to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“It’s incredible to see the difference this service has made for both patients and providers,” said Jim Woodard, TRU’s Chief Operating Officer. “I’ve been in health care for decades and have never seen an organization mobilize so quickly to offer what is needed most in the given moment. Improving quality of care and decreasing hospitalizations is always top of mind, and TRU Tele-Care is doing both while allowing us to provide uninterrupted service during this critical time. Patients and families are thanking us daily, and providers take comfort in knowing their patients are in good hands.”
The foundational technology for the TRU Tele-Care program is developed by Vivify Health, provider of the nation’s leading connected care platform for holistic patient care and engagement. TRU Tele-Care also serves TRU PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) participants at a time when the PACE Day Center is closed due to the pandemic. TRU PACE continues to enroll new participants into TRU’s fully integrated care model that provides all preventative, primary, acute, and long-term care services for elderly participants.
TRU is also responding to the increase in isolation by providing virtual grief services. Grief support groups have moved to Zoom, a cloud meeting platform, and individual grief counseling sessions have also gone virtual.
