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MetroHealth is one of hundreds of health systems and organizations across the country who are taking aim at the so-called social determinants of health, the geographical, economic and cultural roadblocks that affect some 80 percent of clinical outcomes. The pandemic, which exacerbated problems with access to care, pushed many of these efforts into overdrive – and highlighted both the benefits and challenges of using RPM, telehealth and other platforms.
“There are some really great opportunities (for connected health) to address these issues,” Silvers says. “We’ve been thinking about that for a long time, long before COVID-19.”
This past June, the health system received a three-year, $901,000 million award through the Federal Communications Commission’s Connected Care Pilot Program to support its Digital Connectivity Initiative. The money is being used to help the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority equip public housing complexes and households with high-speed internet services, and follows a $600,000, five-year partnership with local non-profit DigitalC to provide low-cost internet access to as many as 1,000 low-and moderate-income households in another neighborhood.
That award also builds off of a an earlier FCC award for MetroHealth’s Hospital at Home Program, which was launched in 2020 and uses a combination of RPM, telehealth and in-person visits to provide care at home for patients who would otherwise be in a hospital. That program launched with a goal to treat COVID-19 patients at home, but can be scaled out in the future to provide care for recently discharged patients as well as those with chronic care management needs.
Broadband connectivity is a key element to telehealth adoption, as well as a challenge for those who can’t access or afford it. By expanding connectivity into underserved neighborhoods, MetroHealth and the Institute for HOPE are building the foundation for RPM and telehealth programs that reach people at home, allowing them to connect more conveniently with care providers.
“Digital connectivity is very important to giving people access to care,” Silvers says. “But it’s just one part of a really comprehensive strategy” to address SDOH.
Silvers says the Institute for HOPE focuses on three strategies: building healthy families and resilient communities, providing transformative knowledge and education, and shining a light on innovative best practices. So beyond improving access to healthcare services, they’re also addressing safe, stable housing, diet and nutrition, reliable transportation, education and training and job opportunities.
There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle, he says. And some of those pieces haven’t even been discovered yet.
As the nation shifts into a hybrid healthcare strategy that combines in-person with virtual care, more opportunities will crop up to link people to the resources they need. And health systems, hospitals, clinics and medical practices will be able to use their connected health platforms to develop and expand those resources.
“This isn’t just a hub-and-spoke model with everything going through the hospital,” Silvers adds. “We’re creating a web of mutual support.”
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