Novant Health Provides Electronics to Improve Equitable Access to Expanded Telehealth Offerings 

Partnership with Health Recovery Solutions for remote patient monitoring advances care delivery and improves patient outcomes

HOBOKEN, N.J., May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novant Health, a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina today announced the launch of a remote patient monitoring system in partnership with Health Recovery Solutions. The partnership will launch with a pilot program focused on bariatric patients, with plans to expand to other patient populations later this year. 

With a goal to prevent hospital readmissions and improve outcomes, remote patient monitoring will provide patients the option to receive ongoing or follow-up care related to their procedure or condition from the comfort of their own home. Once enrolled in the program, patients receive a 4G Samsung tablet and Bluetooth biometric monitoring devices to record their vital signs, report their symptoms, engage in educational content, and track their medication. The devices are provided to patients to ensure access and remove barriers to this critical follow-up monitoring. Through the program, patients become more educated about their conditions and engaged in their care—setting them up for long-term success. 

"At Novant Health Bariatric Solutions, our focus is to improve outcomes and prevent complications by tailoring treatment to each patient's unique needs, whether it be caring for patients after bariatric surgery or offering chronic disease management, such as long-term weight loss and weight loss maintenance," said Dr. David Voellinger, Medical Director at Novant Health Bariatric Center. "Using remote patient monitoring, we can now more closely monitor our patients in their own homes and, in real time, virtually track relevant physiological data such as weight, oxygen saturation and blood pressure. This degree of monitoring and patient involvement allows for an unprecedented level of care and has the ability to greatly improve patient engagement, education, support and overall outcomes." 

Novant Health clinicians will monitor patients daily, responding to risk alerts based on patients' reported vitals and symptoms. To quickly evaluate patients and address concerns, Novant Health nurses can contact patients directly through the tablet via text messaging, phone call, or virtual visit. In addition, virtual visits can be used in place of home or office visits to address common barriers to care, such as a lack of transportation. 

"Novant Health is committed to using industry-leading technology that enhances the patient experience, improves outcomes and advances our ability to meet each person where they are," said Angela Yochem, Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation and Digital Officer for Novant Health. "As we look to the future of care delivery, telehealth and remote patient monitoring will be critical in helping us deliver safe, high-quality care to patients, regardless of location." 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while facing hospital capacity constraints and growing concern among patients, Novant Health accelerated efforts to deploy telehealth services and shift care delivery in-home. To-date, the health system has completed more than 1.2 million virtual visits. 

To learn more about Novant Health's virtual care offerings, visit NovantHealth.org/virtualcare. 

About Health Recovery Solutions (HRS)

Health Recovery Solutions' (HRS) telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions empower the nation's leading providers and payers to deliver care to patients across the continuum—reducing readmissions, optimizing clinician workflow, and improving patient satisfaction. HRS' disease-specific telehealth solutions are customized with educational videos, care plans, and medication reminders while also integrated with Bluetooth peripherals to engage patients in their self-management. HRS' mission is to create a new standard of care by providing advanced telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions that facilitate behavior change and ultimately improve patient outcomes.