Page 11 Case Studies in Telehealth Adoption Partners Health Care Connecting Heart Failure Patients to Through Monitoring

PArTners heAlThcAre: connecTing heArT FAilure PATienTs To Providers Through remoTe moniToring 11

Organizations often tend to view connected health sometimes fail. But often, many technology-enabled
solutions as simply requiring a technical interface to solutions in health care fail to recognize the need for
existing programs rather than a redesign of the care solutions that are social in nature rather than solely
delivery model. Partners’ experience indicates that con- technological. In the current fee-for-service envi-
nected health requires a different mind-set to program ronment, organizations have to also be prepared for
design and execution. Otherwise, there is a low likeli- the delays that payment system can impose on staff
hood that it will change practice and lead to desired behavior. Organizations must show clinicians that con-
outcomes. Looking forward, Partners is developing a nected health programs will support care and quality
predictive algorithm as a screening strategy of a hos- outcomes, while planning workflow changes very care-
pitalized patient’s risk for readmission. This will help fully and taking the time and making the effort to work
contribute toward a more aggressive segmentation of methodically and systematically through issues that
the population and tiering of the program to meet the may arise. Finally, it takes time to integrate technology
needs of more acute patients on discharge and to man- into health delivery and to allow staff to adapt to the
age them so they can exit the program. new work model. As a result, structure, coordination,
Dedicating staff members to the implementa- planning, and setting goals, as well as expectations, for
tion and oversight of the program is more critical than the program are critical preparatory steps for success.
the technology itself in understanding why programs

how This cAse sTudy wAs conducTed

This case study was developed through interviews with staff from Partners HealthCare and the Center for
Connected Health and a review of both organizations’ websites. From the Center for Connected Health, we
would like to acknowledge Dr. Joseph Kvedar, director; Rob Havasy, project specialist; Regina Nieves, con-
nected cardiac care coordinator; and Khinlei Myint-U, corporate manager, product development and communica-
tions; At Partners HealthCare, we would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Alex Baker, former chief
operating officer, Partners Community HealthCare. Partners’ quality, safety, and efficiency measures are avail-
able at High Performance Medicine (http://qualityandsafety.partners.org/).

The other organizations profiled in our Case Studies in Telehealth Adoption series are the Veterans Health
Administration’s Care Coordination/Home Telehealth program and Centura Health’s Centura Health at Home
program. To read them, along with a synthesis of findings from all three case studies, visit our website at
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Case-Studies/2013/Jan/Telehealth-Synthesis.aspx.