Bendigo Health in regional Victoria will become one of the first hospitals in Australia to roll-out telemonitoring used for suspected COVID-19 patients. The system has been trialed with current geriatric patients to ensure its viability in the testing for readiness. The digital care application, teamplay myCare Companion ‘Pandemic’ delivered by medical technology company Siemens Healthineers, allows clinicians to remotely prioritize and manage patients based on their clinical needs, and has the capability to be rolled out to any healthcare service across the country. 

HOW IT WORKS

The cloud-based remote monitoring system, built on a proven secure platform, supplies doctors and nurses with a dashboard of daily updated symptoms and health vitals to remotely stay on top of their patients’ health. Symptom tracking and the use of monitoring devices, such as thermometers and pulse oximeters, will track whether the condition of the patient is deteriorating. 

This data will be collected and transmitted to the hospital via a secure network. The new solution also offers the remote care team the ability to securely communicate with the patient thus providing feedback and reassurance to patients who are being cared for while in home quarantine.

The teamplay myCare Companion ‘Pandemic’ application is built upon Siemens Healthineers teamplay myCare Companion chronic care. teamplay myCare companion-chronic care, is designed to telemonitor patients with chronic heart failure at home. Professor Marc Budge, Geriatrician and Clinical Director of Integrated Care Services at Bendigo Health, said that the innovative remote monitoring solution will allow the hospital to provide the best possible medical care and advice to patients in the community while managing in-demand medical resources.

WHY IT MATTERS

As hospitals across Australia continue to pivot their operations in preparation for a potential rise in COVID-19 patients, a critical resource concern remains the availability and access to beds in such a circumstance. In the worst-hit countries, hospitals have been overwhelmed and the contagious nature of COVID-19 has led to high rates of infections, as well as deaths, among healthcare workers. By enabling patients and supporting clinicians to manage cases at home, teamplay myCare Companion ‘Pandemic’ will provide an infrastructure to alleviate pressure on essential facilities at Bendigo Health.

THE LARGER TREND

According to a statement by Australia’s Health Minister Greg Hunt, more than 4.3 million health and medical services have been delivered to a total of more than three million patients (as of 20 April) through the telehealth items introduced by the Australian Government for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, telehealth is emerging as an effective and sustainable solution for precaution, prevention and treatment to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

ON THE RECORD

“Australia is currently accelerating the provision of telehealth services to diagnose and care for patients in the community. Siemens Healthineers teamplay myCare Companion ‘Pandemic’ will provide a platform for Bendigo Health to more safely deliver patient care and support in the community whilst preserving inpatient beds for more serious presentations with COVID-19 infections. Importantly, we can also more effectively prevent hospital admission for those with chronic disease; a group at high risk of poorer outcomes in this pandemic,” said Professor Budge.