Remote
patient monitoring can allow employers to monitor their employees without
risking infection in the workplace.
BY
PETER IANACE PUBLISHED IN HEALTHCARE
BUSINESS AUGUST 20, 2020 9:00 AM
As
the nation’s COVID-19 caseload and death count continue to rise, individuals
and businesses are scrambling for Return-to-Work solutions. Moving cautiously
forward against a highly infectious pandemic places employers and their
employees in the worst of situations. Fortunately, the conundrum ‘how can we
resume activities safely,’ can be partially addressed by emerging technology
and human collaboration.
Our
crash course in working remote has expanded our awareness of how technology can
assist in optimizing our current work environment. Healthcare has witnessed a
significant change in the acceptance of telehealth and Remote Patient
Monitoring (RPM). The medical device industry has responded with new devices,
platforms, and connectivity to create critical data from a distance while
providing compassionate care outside the traditional clinical settings. Modern
technology has supplied the building blocks to help meet this difficult
challenge.
The
responsibilities are clear. Employers and employees must take precautions to
avoid infection and monitor themselves for early detection should infection
occur. The public health basics are well known and must be followed. Correct
masks, social distancing, and regular hand washing are now part of the daily
routine at home and work.
Next,
employees must establish baseline data sets of vital signs combined with
symptom tracking. This information is gathered at home before arriving at the
workplace. Employee screening at the workplace cannot stop this contagious
virus from entering the workplace environment. On the spot temperature checks
are often too late. A better solution is for employees to track their vital
signs and temperature daily from home while completing a COVID-19
self-screening exam. This information is shared with the workplace or other
sites, as appropriate. This practice increases personal awareness about the
virus and transmits changes in signs or symptoms in advance of leaving the
house. Early findings offer early warnings and allow smart decisions about
‘coming to work today.’
No
approach is perfect as some COVID-19 infected employees may be asymptomatic
during the incubation period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has noted that up to 45% of transmission occurs between asymptomatic
individuals who don’t know their infected, and uninfected people who aren’t aware
of the viral transmission. This reality explains the necessity of public health
guidelines. Still, telehealth and RPM can reduce the potential spread of
infection by identifying employees who have clinically relevant changes from
their baselines before they come to work.
Employers
can access telehealth and RPM monitoring tools for employees, where devices
measure and instantly upload vitals and answers to self-screening questions to
a centralized HIPAA-compliant portal. A confidential access system permits the
viewing of specific employee health data by qualified personnel. Most platforms
have a threshold structure that issues alerts guided by the employer’s COVID-19
protocols, giving employees guidance on what needs to be done in order to
return to work should they be suspected of infection.
With
proper training and available guidance, adding these capabilities can become an
essential asset in the employer-employee relationship. Telehealth and RPM
technology deliver platforms that support HIPAA-compliance and a cost-effective
solution to employees with on-demand access to doctors. A simple RPM solution
can save lives and establish best practices resulting in reduced healthcare
costs.
These
unprecedented times call for innovative measures to keep our workers and work
environments safe. Employers need to look after employees as well as employees
looking after one another.
Peter
Ianace has over 20 years of experience leading high growth teams at Morgan
Stanley and Merrill Lynch, and is currently the chief operating officer at
VitalTech, a virtual healthcare company.
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