Surge Patient Management Through TigerConnect

Managing New Cases Amid Covid-19

When Covid-19 hit the hospitals of New York City, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBI) was no exception. Serving a population of over 300,000, at the peak of the pandemic’s onset, NBI was losing an average of 10 patients per day. As days turned into weeks, surge patient management became dire, not only for patients, but for physicians as well.

NBI knew that as more patients were admitted, they would need to communicate quickly and make fast decisions regarding where to send them and the correct treatment methods in order to manage increasing patient numbers and reduce time to treatment. The hospital also recognized that a strategy was needed for organizing medical staff, streamlining care team communication, and unifying the various units throughout the hospital.

NBI and TigerConnect

NBI’s TigerConnect implementation was initiated through the need for strategic planning and surge patient management. Through TigerConnect, NBI began to improve the patient experience and see positive outcomes in the areas most impacted by Covid-19.

Covid-19 Care Requirements

• Storing and tracking data and information
• Organizing new admissions and treatment action
• Keeping up with physician health, safety, and communication

Faster collaboration

Once a patient was admitted, alerting the team through TigerConnect simplified the process and provided transparency.

Through TigerConnect, NBI’s clinicians achieved better care team collaboration across the health system. As healthcare’s most comprehensive, all-in-one platform solution for enabling top-to-bottom communication transformation, TigerConnect changes the way teams collaborate.

Providers are able to connect facilities, data, staff, and even patients on a single network for faster workflows, lower costs, and better care for patients.

Improved communication

NBI care team members kept their cell phones by their side at all times so they could maintain communication when it was needed the most.

Video, voice, and text allow care teams to communicate in the way that works best for them and their patients. With secure remote video check-ins with patients and conversations with family members, TigerConnect empowers clinicians with the right telehealth tools to extend care wherever it’s needed.

Team Implementation

Through TigerConnect, NBI formed multiple Teams varying from 10 to 50 individuals, helping them to stay informed and share information.

In critical situations similar to those at NBI, TigerConnect Teams makes activating emergency responses fast and highly efficient. Clinicians can share vital patient details so the whole care team is prepared, saving precious time in code situations.

With Teams, it’s easy for non-members to activate and communicate with the right people at the right time, allowing everyone to work from the same information. Even non-members stay in the conversation as long as they’re needed.

Secure conversations

NBI was able to securely communicate who was being admitted, tested, where, and who would be treating them, all in a HIPAA-compliant way.

TigerConnect facilitates HIPAA-compliance, is HITRUST-certified, and allows clinicians and care teams to communicate securely via text messages from anywhere, at any time.

As a secure messaging platform with end-to-end encryption, PIN locks, and full administrator controls, TigerConnect protects patient information and care team conversations.

A Sigh of Relief

NBI’s Covid-19 patient peak was early on during the pandemic, but after their TigerConnect implementation, they’ve experienced fewer admissions, finally having more control over the situation.

In addition, NBI has had 500 successful Covid-19 discharges which they attribute to the improved communication through TigerConnect. NBI has nearly 600 active users on the platform, sending out around 115,000 messages monthly.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth, but how do you best meet virtual care needs? Check out our on-demand webinar below to learn how a single, all-in-one solution combines doctor and patient-initiated telehealth, patient texting, broadcast messaging, and appointment reminders — along with clinical collaboration to provide optimal care delivery.