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by Tim Rowan, Editor

As everyone knows by now, the use of telehealth technologies of all types, from phone calls to remote vital sign monitoring, has dramatically increased during the pandemic. CMS has loosened restrictive regulations and some providers report a tenfold growth in utilization.

Among the telehealth vendors that have stepped up to help is Vivify, the Plano, Texas-based remote patient monitoring systems company. Since March, two related Nevada emergency services companies, REMSA and Care Flight, have been using COVID-19 Pathways a new app from Vivify, to monitor every employee every day before they come to work.

We spoke with Markus Dorsey, RN, CFRN, CMTE, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Flight Nurse for the Reno-based company that provides air and ground emergency transportation over a 60,000 square mile section of northern California and Nevada. He described the Vivify app as a huge success. "We did not want to make it mandatory," he told us, "that may have been an HR issue. But, so far, 345 out of 500 employees have voluntarily downloaded it and use it every day. It took about a week to get them all set up and trained."

Employees who opt in receive a text message with instructions to download the app on their phone. The app asks a few background questions and then sends a daily reminder to report their temperature and any symptoms.

"As the largest employer of mobile health care personnel in northern Nevada, REMSA responds to more than 70,000 requests for service every year," he said. "As our community worked to flatten the curve, and now moves through our reopening phases, REMSA has a responsibility to keep our providers and staff healthy. Implementing Vivify's COVID-19 Screening Pathway provides reassurance to our employees, as well as our patients and first responder colleagues. Our employees have told us that this screening tool helps them feel supported and able to quickly get direction for their questions."

Dorsey or someone in the office monitors the results, responding only to system alerts that an employee has reported a symptom or a temperature over a certain threshold. To date, Dorsey told us, the app has caught one COVID-19 case, while most employees reporting symptoms turn out to have the flu.

"If they do report a symptom, we call them immediately and ask a series of questions: "Were you possibly exposed by a patient?" "Were you exposed with PPE or was it a PPE failure?" etc. He added that that first infected employee determined he was probably not exposed while at work.

The company requires every possibly infected employee to self-quarantine for two weeks but they continue to pay them during the quarantine. "That way, they do not have to use up their sick days or vacation time," he told us. "Our employees have been extremely appreciative. They say they feel more a part of the team, even though most of them work remotely. They do make the decision to go to the hospital themselves, but I guide them through that decision, especially if their symptoms worsen."

Dorsey oversees two related businesses. REMSA, "Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority," is a county-related, 501(c)3 organization that provides ambulance services. "Care Flight" is the emergency air service that covers the broad areas of California and Nevada.

With the success of the Vivify app, Dorsey said the companies might someday use Vivify with patients in a third business line that has EMTs visiting patients in their homes.

Background: Vivify & REMSA

Vivify Health has partnered with the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) to implement Vivify’s COVID-19 Screening and Monitoring Pathways, enabling both high and low-risk employees to self-screen for COVID-19 at home using their mobile devices.

Vivify designed the COVID-19 Screening Pathway to stop the virulent spread of COVID-19 by providing a user-friendly, at-home screening option. By making the solution available on mobile devices, users can continually upload and update their symptoms, which are monitored remotely by providers; users can also receive regular updates based on current CDC guidelines.

Through Vivify, the care team is able to catch symptoms early, direct employees to get tested and self-isolate, and provide organizational support to them. REMSA is closely following the guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) whereby employers may screen employees for COVID-19.

"Keeping frontline healthcare workers safe has never been more critical as it is during this pandemic," said Eric Rock, founder and CEO of Vivify Health. "It is essential for healthcare providers to leverage technology like remote patient monitoring, not only to keep patients safe, but also the essential workers who care for them."

For REMSA employees, which include office staff as well as healthcare providers who respond to emergency calls in northern and rural Nevada and northeastern California, the convenience of Vivify’s COVID-19 Pathways allows for easy access to screening and monitoring on a daily basis. This helps REMSA reduce the risk of exposure for already-vulnerable patients and keep infected employees from passing on the virus to others.

About REMSA

REMSA is a high-performance, high-value private healthcare organization and emergency medical services agency serving northern Nevada since 1986. We are a private, nonprofit, community-based organization funded only by user fees with no local community tax subsidy. Through an exclusive franchise agreement, REMSA provides Washoe County’s 420,000 residents with 24/7 ALS and ILS ground ambulance services. REMSA encompasses Care Flight, a regional helicopter, airplane and ground critical care transport service; Care Flight also operates Care Flight Ground in Plumas County. REMSA offers a Nevada-licensed, post-secondary educational institution, a state-of-the-art, fully accredited medical 9-1-1 dispatch communications center, a Tactical Emergency Medical Support team and special events EMS teams.
Remsahealth.com

About Vivify Health

Vivify Health offers connected healthcare delivery solutions. The company’s mobile, cloud-based platform powers holistic remote care management through personalized care plans, biometric data monitoring, multi-channel patient education and functionality configured to each patient’s unique needs. Case studies, including home health and home care, are posted on the Company Blog.
vivifyhealth.com

©2020 by Rowan Consulting Associates, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in Home Care Technology: The Rowan Report. homecaretechreport.com One copy may be printed for personal use; further reproduction by permission only. editor@homecaretechreport.com