When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020, many healthcare systems needed technology to adapt to the evolving situation. Most healthcare systems had telehealth capabilities for scheduled patients, but struggled to figure out how to use telehealth for unscheduled and acute care. Could telehealth help EMS? The Emergency Department? Could technology help prevent exposure for clinicians providing emergent care, and not just for clinicians conducting scheduled appointments?
In March of 2020, we released Pulsara PATIENT: a mobile provider-to-patient platform that allows you to communicate directly with patients and approved family members through live audio and video calls.
Pulsara PATIENT makes it easier for clinicians to provide care for patients, no matter where they are. Care team members (including EMS personnel) simply create a patient channel and add the patient's contact information. The Pulsara platform then sends a pre-populated message to the patient’s smart device, prompting them to download the app. From there, clinicians can initiate secure live audio or video calls to assess and advise patients (or approved individuals, such as their family members) remotely.
Pulsara PATIENT provides a HIPAA-compliant solution for live video calls, giving healthcare facilities the opportunity to convert unscheduled audio calls into billable telemedicine calls. And it's important to note that calls can only be initiated from the clinician’s side; patients can't use Pulsara PATIENT to contact their provider. As of May 2021, Pulsara PATIENT supports group calling, meaning that clinicians can add other team members to a call with a patient or even invite members of the patient's family to the call. This feature is especially useful if a clinician wants to talk to both the patient and a family member who may be in a different location.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Pulsara PATIENT has helped patients receive more timely, efficient care while helping protect clinicians from exposure while they provide that care. Clinicians can even use Pulsara PATIENT to provide white-coat reassurance and counseling to family members who may be unable to be with their loved ones due to restrictive visitation policies.
While many of our customers are currently using Pulsara PATIENT for COVID-19, it can also be used for many conditions in the outpatient, emergency department, inpatient, or prehospital settings. Singing River Health System in Mississippi is using Pulsara PATIENT to safely evaluate immunocompromised cancer patients during treatment and allow them to have regular appointments from the comfort of their homes.
A large Colorado hospital recently partnered with a well-known children’s summer camp in rural Colorado to give parents the option to join their child’s clinical evaluation remotely via live video, giving parents the opportunity to be present for the examination no matter how far away they may be located.
Pulsara PATIENT is also a natural extension for Community Paramedicine and Mobile Integrated Health. Community paramedics in Teller County, Colorado, are using Pulsara PATIENT to follow up with high-risk individuals, giving providers the ability to check in with patients remotely and make sure they have access to all the medications and resources they need.
As we continue to move forward in the wake of the pandemic, Pulsara PATIENT will continue to serve both patients and clinicians around the world. According to Pulsara’s Chief Growth Officer, Kris Kaull, “Pulsara is made for clinicians, by clinicians. We care deeply about simplifying healthcare communication and workflows while simultaneously helping to improve the lives of patients and caregivers. This is what drives us forward. At the end of the day, it’s all about serving people.”
Want to find out how Pulsara PATIENT can help you find new ways to care for your patients?
Learn more here.
Pulsara PATIENT can help with COVID-19 patients in medical isolation. Visit www.pulsara.com/covid-19 to learn more.
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