Digital Patient Engagement Supports Patients with End-Stage Heart Failure

THE CHALLENGE

Medical University of South Carolina Health (MUSC) offers the left ventricular assist device (LVAD)—a lifesaving device for patients who’ve reached end-stage heart failure. Patients/caregivers learning to manage LVADs require substantial education and support. COVID-19 and ongoing challenges related to VAD coordinator availability after business hours challenged MUSC to effectively prepare patients/caregivers for managing the LVAD. MUSC needed a digital patient engagement solution that would enable it to provide effective patient education that maintained high-quality outcomes.

THE PROJECT

To provide the high-quality, asynchronous education its patients needed, MUSC utilized customized patient/caregiver education for pre- and post-LVAD implant, delivered via the Twistle® Patient Engagement by Health Catalyst software.

Twistle delivers personalized, step-by-step guidance to the patient and caregiver’s mobile phone. Patients and their caregivers review messages and video content related to pre- and post-LVAD care. After receiving the LVAD, Twistle supports remote patient monitoring. Patients are prompted to enter readings from the LVAD device into the Twistle platform. Alerts are automatically generated and sent to the care team if patient submissions fall outside the expected ranges.

In addition to the patient/caregiver education, MUSC developed a community provider education pathway in Twistle, providing VAD education to emergency medical personnel and other healthcare professionals who might interact with patients with a VAD, ensuring they have the baseline education required to provide safe, effective, high-quality care.

THE RESULT

Using Twistle, MUSC addressed the patient education challenges posed by the pandemic and addressed resource challenges, effectively adding asynchronous LVAD education and providing patients/caregivers the education and support they needed while maintaining high-quality care outcomes.

• 11-day shorter length of stay than the national average, enabling patients to spend 1,357 more days at home.
• 10 percent lower readmission rate than the national average.
• Expanded LVAD education to patients, caregivers, and medical professionals.

“Twistle enabled us to shift to asynchronous education without compromising on the value of the education we provide, as evidenced by our high-quality outcomes.”

Jennifer M. Hajj, MHDS, BSN, RN, CCRN-K, Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program Manager, Medical University of South Carolina

ADDITIONAL READING

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