Remote Patient Monitoring - Prolonging Independence for Congestive Heart Failure Patients

Treating patients with chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, is expensive. Remote patient monitoring, designed to keep patients out of healthcare facilities while closely monitoring their conditions and providing appropriate care, is a better solution for patients as well as an organization’s bottom line.

Over the last decade, significant technological developments have been made in remote patient monitoring that enables CHF patients to be monitored in their homes and other continuing care facilities. ECRI has carefully evaluated these technologies and in this members-only webcast, we will discuss their capabilities and explore the important features for consideration.

Learning objectives

• Lessons learned from the pioneers in effective monitoring of patients remotely at home and in continuing care facilities.
• What can the technology do and where can it be used?
• Criteria for selecting patients
• Devices available to monitor patients remotely and what ECRI looks for when evaluating these devices

Andrew Furman, MD, MMM, FACEP

Executive Director, Clinical Excellence, Technology Assessment, ECRI
Andrew Furman is an emergency medicine physician who has worked in clinical and leadership roles in Pennsylvania and Oregon. He worked as a quality and communications consultant within the Geisinger Health System, acting as a liaison between the closed model of care delivery at Geisinger and the more open models of care delivery in newly acquired hospitals and health systems. At Salem Health, in Salem, Oregon, he served as Vice President of Medical Affairs. After completing a Master of Medical Management degree at University of Southern California Marshall School Business, he joined Accolade in Plymouth Meeting. While at Accolade, Dr. Furman supported the organization’s mission to equip employees of self-insured companies with people, tools, and technology that empowered them to better navigate the complicated healthcare environment.

Jason Launders

Director of Operations, Device Evaluation, ECRI
Jason Launders has been at ECRI since 1998 and is currently the Director of Operations for the Device Evaluation group. Jason’s primary responsibility is managing ECRI’s laboratory based evaluations of medical technologies. Jason has an MSc in Medical Physics and spent his earlier time at ECRI evaluating a wide range of diagnostic imaging technology, such as: CT, MRI, PACS, and Digital Radiography. Today, he is responsible for developing the content of evaluations to ensure they meet the needs of our members.

Beth Cwiklinski, MSW, MBA

Vice President of Home Services, Compliance, and Policy, Meadowood Senior Living
Ms. Cwiklinski has been employed at Meadowood Senior Living since 2014. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Administration from Temple University, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a Healthcare concentration from DeVry University. She has spent the majority of her career working in the field of senior living and healthcare. Her experience includes leadership positions in several long-term care skilled nursing facilities, life plan communities, and home and community-based LIFE programs. Beth also serves on several Boards including the Eastern Pennsylvania Geriatric Society, and St. Ignatius Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Melissa O’Connor, PhD, MBA, RN, FGSA, FAAN

Associate Professor of Nursing, Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, Villanova University
Dr. O’Connor is a pioneer researcher and national expert in home health care, gerontology nursing, telehealth and transitional care. She studies home-based health care for older adults, filling a critical gap in knowledge for health care providers.

Jean Harpel, MSN, RN, GCNS

Operations Manager, Aging Services, ECRI
Jean Harpel is a geriatric clinical nurse specialist and a risk management analyst at ECRI, where she provides environment-of-care safety and security and quality and risk management consultation to aging services/post-acute care providers. She educates leadership and staff on how to implement Risk Management systems within their communities. As part of ECRI’s consultation services, she reviews incident reports from aging services member providers and works with the organizations to help reduce future risk and harm to their residents as well as helping achieve focus on developing a culture of safety and accountability. She has developed institutional- based learning programs utilizing electronic media, traditional lecture, just-in-time activities and bedside initiatives that have focused on safe and efficient care delivery. She has written, implemented and reviewed policies and procedures for continuing care retirement communities and home care providers.

Priyanka Shah

Sr. Project Officer, Device Evaluation, ECRI
Priyanka Shah is a senior project engineer with the Device Evaluation group at ECRI where she performs medical device evaluations, investigates system failures, develops practical guidance for healthcare facilities, conducts accident investigations and consults healthcare facilities on pre-purchase selection and appropriate use of medical equipment and health-IT systems. Her areas of expertise include consumer devices, remote patient monitoring, physiologic patient monitoring, alarm management, and EHR usability. Ms. Shah came to ECRI with a background in research engineering and program management. She earned her MS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University.