Critical Access Hospital Succeeds Using Telehealth for COVID-19 and Beyond
Critical Access Hospital Succeeds Using Telehealth for COVID-19 and Beyond
Predictive telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic identifies high-risk patients and improves patient care
Chelan, WA and Seattle WA – October 14, 2020: Lake Chelan Health and Wanda Health announce the release of a new Case Study demonstrating that the proactive use of predictive telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic improved care and strengthened the connection between the hospital and patients. The results of the program also show that the use of predictive telehealth helps expand care for patients that live in rural locations or cannot complete regular visits to the hospital or clinic.
As the COVID-19 pandemic intensified, the leadership at Lake Chelan Health, a Washington State Critical Access Hospital, realized a new approach was required to deliver optimal care to their patients. Part of their decision to use the Wanda Telehealth solution was the requirements to provide specialized care to high-risk patients. The program, led by the Lake Chelan Health Community Paramedicine team, adopted the COVID-19 Telehealth Screening and Care Management programs from Wanda Health to help them provide patients and quarantined individuals with automated symptom screening and remote care management. 471 patients were enrolled in the program and provided automated COVID-19 screenings over a 6- day period. Key findings from the program include:
- A strengthening of the patient-care team relationship
- Successful identification of “at-risk” patients in need of supplemental disease-specific care management
- Strengthening the commitment of Lake Chelan Health to their patient base
- Improved team productivity
- Sustained high level of patient satisfaction
“The Wanda Telehealth programs have helped us provide more responsive and targeted care for our patients, helping to reduce the strain and financial burden on the entire hospital system,” said Ray Eickmeyer, EMS Director at Lake Chelan Health. “The good news is we only saw about 10% of the population in the program that showed COVID-19 symptoms. We also identified a large population that really need ongoing support for chronic conditions and other ailments. Lake Chelan Health has launched a dozen new telehealth disease management programs to care for these high-risk patients. We will continue expanding these care programs as part of our commitment to improving the health of the community.”
Key metrics from the program include:
- 10% of patients were COVID-19 symptomatic
- 99% patient satisfaction
- 13% of patients were found to have conditions that require ongoing interventions
- 3,656 COVID-19 screenings completed
- 236% increase in patients request for help with their care
- 14% in care team productivity
“The team at Lake Chelan Health are incredible in their ability to care for patients with hard to manage chronic, mental, and behavioral conditions made even more difficult due to the rural locations in which many of them live,” stated Bill Bassett, President of Wanda Health. “Based on the results from the COVID-19 program, they are now expanding their ability to provide preventative, targeted care for patients with an expanded set of care needs keeping them happier, safer and healthier at home. The success of the Lake Chelan Health program is a model to be followed by other Critical Care Access hospitals and programs that provide care to patients in rural and hard to reach communities.”
The program data showed there were improvements in workflow efficiencies that accelerated COVID-19 identification for the care team. During the first thirty days, the average daily volume of patients that were enrolled and sent the COVID-19 Screenings increased 14% from 57 to 65 per day.
The results also reflect that the ease of use of the telehealth platform enhanced care team and patient interactions. Patients actively seeking out assistance from their care team rose 236% during the first 30 days from 5.7 requests a day to 19.2 requests a day. These patient requests included needing information about COVID-19 symptoms, medication assistance, and getting health coaching regard existing conditions.
Other important findings can be read in the case study available at www.wandahealth.com
About Lake Chelan Health (www.lakechelanhealth.com)
Lake Chelan Health is Critical Access Hospital with supporting clinics in Chelan, Washington. Lake Chelan Health is equipped with a 24-hour emergency room, surgical center, and inpatient services, specialty care clinic and a family medicine care clinic. Lake Chelan Health is a vital component in the health care network that extends throughout the state and beyond. The family physicians, surgeons and care team regularly partner with larger facilities to ensure a full range of quality medical services to the Lake Chelan Valley.
About Wanda Health. (www.wandahealth.com)
Wanda Health is putting the power of artificial intelligence into the hands of physicians, nurses, and patients to drive better care, increase satisfaction, and improve the bottom line. Our leading telehealth platform combines predictive analytics, advanced behavioral sciences, patient engagement and multimodal telehealth into a clinical decision support and care management platform that reduces adverse events and improves adherence. Our customers are experiencing reductions in unplanned rehospitalizations and emergency department visits, increased patient adherence, added revenue and reduced costs of operations.
For more information, additional images or interview opportunities contact:
Wanda Health
Bill Bassett, President
media@wandahealth.com
(206) 472-5584
Lake Chelan Health
Agustin Benegas
Communications & Outreach Manager
ABenegas@lcch.net
Office: 509.682.8525