Philadelphia and the surrounding area are currently creeping up the list as the latest hot spots in the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, St. Luke’s University Health Network is starting to use remote patient monitoring to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal is to manage the surge of COVID-19 patients while maintaining the safety of other patients and providers.
ST. Luke’s plan monitor the blood oxygen saturation and respiration rates of over 2,000 patients who are either hospitalized or quarantined at home. They are also using an automated survey to ask patients such questions as, “are you having trouble breathing?” and “what is your temperature?”. The reading from their monitor and the answers to the questions are then relayed to the patients care team for review.
“This technology is game-changing in light of the crush of demand on our hospitals during this COVID-19 pandemic,” Aldo Carmona, MD, St. Lukeʼs Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovation and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, said. “We can create temporary, pop-up respiratory monitoring units as needed to meet the changing patient volumes and track employees’ health in their homes if they have been exposed to COVID-19, the flu, or any other serious illness.”
