Jared Conley, MD, PhD, MPH
HTL Project | 2020
As COVID-19 began to spread in Boston in the spring, HTL redeployed resources to establish a remote patient monitoring program to assist in the Mass General response. With little knowledge of the disease at that point and many patients presenting with concern for COVID- 19 symptoms, there was a need to balance providing the best care for each patient while minimizing unnecessary use of limited hospital resources. HTL worked with hospital leaders to leverage the existing Patient Gateway to set up a program to enable lower-risk patients to be safely discharged from the ER with monitoring through this platform. Patients in this program were able to safely return home and enter symptoms daily into their Patient Gateway app and these entries were followed remotely by the team of Mass General nurses. When patients showed signs of worsening, they were contacted by the nurse and provided instructions on how best to proceed. Patients in this program told us they found great comfort and benefit from this additional level of Mass General care — and it allowed Mass General to maintain its critical hospital capacity. It remains at the ready for redeployment if another COVID-19 surge occurs.
