Overcoming the challenges of cardiac monitoring in virtual wards

It can be challenging to implement and manage cardiac monitoring in virtual wards. We describe 3 of the biggest challenges and how Happitech helps to overcome them.

1. Complex Patient Onboarding and Support

The vast majority of patients suffering from arrhythmias are 65 or older.? This generation grew up in the pre-digital era and are often uncomfortable using new technologies. Some will struggle with using a smartphone.

Happitech solution

• Focus on the usability of cardiac signs monitoring with step-by-step spoken instructions throughout the reading and pictures on the screen
• Patient leaflet describing the process and FAQs
• Clinician leaflet describing the process and FAQs

2. Ensuring patient compliance.

Until it becomes a routine, it is easy for patients to forget to regularly track their cardiac rhythm. Some patients may feel like they don’t need to follow clinician instructions and others may get frustrated using the smartphone properly.?

Happitech solution

• Focus on the usability of cardiac signs monitoring
• Ease and speed of monitoring
• Clinic staff follow up regularly with patients identifying and encouraging those less compliant than others

3. Clinician burnout

Remote patient monitoring is a new way of delivering a clinical service and can be time-consuming and complex. As staff spend time onboarding and supporting patients and reviewing the data that comes from them they may neglect other work. Already hard-pressed teams can see this as yet another burden and complexity in their day-to-day.?

Happitech Solution

• Patient-friendly user interface that is easy to use. Patient and clinician feedback proves that clinical oversight is not required for patients to successfully use our cardiac health monitoring.
• Manually sifting through hundreds of new data points per patient or service can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Without software to help manage and present the data in an easily digestible format for busy clinicians, they miss insights or misdiagnose an issue.?Our clinician-facing dashboard with highly visual, easy-to-interpret presentation of the data supports clinicians to make better clinical decisions, faster.
• Implementation of any new care pathway must be built around patients and clinicians, not the technology and is a change management program led by an early adopter and enthusiast who is part of the team.??