Acclivity Enhances Mobile App To Support Care During COVID-19

Patient- and family-facing app aids in screening, telehealth, and more

As COVID-19 continues to spread across our nation, Acclivity Health understands the growing concerns of hospice and palliative care organizations. Providers are having to limit their patient visits due to lack of staff, PPE supplies, and risk of exposure. Hospitals are transferring their seriously ill patients to hospice earlier in their effort to keep beds open for potential COVID-19 cases. As a result, hospices are seeing their census increase during this pandemic, requiring close monitoring and screening for COVID-19 while ensuring the safety of providers and their patients.  To limit the spread of infection, providers must find a way to care for patients without being at the bedside.

At Acclivity Health we have listened to our clients’ concerns, and worked hand-in-hand with them to enhance our mobile app with new tools to meet their needs. The Acclivity Connected Health mobile app is a patient- and family-facing application that fosters safe, efficient care delivery in this time of uncertainty. By driving virtual communication, sharing documentation, and proactively screening for symptoms, the app can now reduce the number of in-person exposures for both patients and providers. 

Both The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CMS recommend that hospices “implement active screening” of new and established patients to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our mobile app allows patients or their family member to respond to a questionnaire to screen them for exposure to/symptoms of COVID-19. Their responses enter the Acclivity platform’s outreach queue so staff can follow up promptly via telephone, FaceTime, or Google Duo.

The ‘Call Nurse’ function also allows a patient or their proxy to request a call from their caregiver to ask questions, report symptom changes, or discuss their current diagnoses. This gives nurses the ability to triage patients effectively, minimize exposure, and prioritize where they assign their limited staff members.

The ‘Hospice Caregiver’s Survey’ feature provides the ability to screen for acuity of symptoms and the onset of patient decline through a series of questions. This captured data can be used to ensure that the level of hospice care continuously matches the changing physical and emotional needs of patients and their families, especially in those final days of life, allowing visits to occur in the crucial time when death is imminent.

The app includes Quality of Life Index reporting directly from the patient or family member to the care team, including a pain scale and locator. It can also be used to communicate important medical information and records, like DNR documentation, power of attorney forms, and living wills. For patients entering hospice or palliative care during COVID-19, when family member visits are restricted per CMS and CDC recommendations, the ability to access these documents is more important than ever for providers to facilitate those end-of-life wishes.

We understand the need for legal proxies to be part of their loved one’s care, too. All of a patient’s information can be shared with their chosen family member, who can communicate with the care team and stay abreast of the patient’s condition through the app while in-person visitation is limited. 

To learn more about how Acclivity can help you provide safe care during this time, call 904.562.1368 or email info@8kw.3ce.myftpupload.com.