VieMed RT
Connecting VieMed's respiratory therapists with their COPD patients
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Product Overview
VieMed’s respiratory therapists rely on a variety of sources for their patient’s data. VieMed RT is part of a pilot program that aims to extend patients’ lives through leveraging technology. By providing our therapists with insights to patients’ ventilator usage, we help them become more effective and engaging clinicians.
Scope
Product design
Platforms
Timeline
Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2020
Tools
Design Process
Empathize
User interviews
Observational research
User personas
Journey mapping
Define
Wireframing
User flows
Prototype
Design system
Interaction design
Usability Test
Zoom
In-person
Iterate
Testing
Develop KPIs
Automated Alerts for Better Patient Care
CARE MANAGER
The Care Manager is the first place the therapist lands when they log into VieMed RT. On the web app, they’re immediately able to see crucial data about their patients. Below, tasks are automatically generated based on abnormal ventilator usage, errors, and patient’s responses to a daily questionnaire.
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Improved Access to Patient Data to Improve Health Outcomes
PATIENT BIOMETRICS
Previously, the only time VieMed’s respiratory therapists could see ventilator data from their patients was when they would visit in the home 4 times a year. Through their RT app and the patient’s Engage tablet, respiratory therapists can now see ventilator usage every 8 hours. This allows our respiratory therapists to better monitor when their patients get treatment.
Patient Responses & RPH™ Score
ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION
We equipped patients with a tablet to answer a daily questionnaire. These questions are compiled to form a proprietary biomarker, Respiratory Pulmonary Health Score (RPH™ Score). This serves as a measurement of overall respiratory health that's medically-driven and patient-wellness focused. Patient trends are used to alert therapists to proactively intervene before a medical event occurs. Trends, patient profiles, and RPH™ Scores are used to help therapists deliver care that leads to better patient outcomes at scale.
Face-to-Face Interaction (Even During a Pandemic)
TELEHEALTH CALLS
2020 was difficult for us all. Patients with preexisting respiratory illnesses were a part of the population most vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. Responsible social distancing was necessary to minimize risk, but these patients still needed access to high-quality healthcare. In 2020, VieMed's respiratory therapists handled over 1000 patient calls through our telehealth platform. These calls were used to troubleshoot ventilators remotely, increase patient compliance, and perform wellness check-ins to maintain and improve patient wellness throughout the year.
Our Respiratory Therapists
I love the fact that we can connect with our patients virtually especially during this time of crisis to keep them and ourselves safe.
I like that I can lay eyes on a ventilator. I can tell pretty quickly if I need to go and do a home visit or if it's something I can walk through over the phone.
I started at VieMed in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Telehealth helped me a lot because I was able to meet patients that I wasn't able to see in person.
Increased Patient Engagement
SOCIAL PORTAL
The Social Portal enables more casual conversations between VieMed’s patients and respiratory therapists. Therapists are encouraged to initiate and moderate group discussions about COPD, equipment, medication, and overall mental health.
The Result
On average, 20% of VieMed’s COPD patients get their ventilators picked up within their first 90 days of getting it. This is often due to non-compliance or death. By providing respiratory therapists frequently updated ventilator data, we were able to decrease pickups overall by 16% over a 90 day period!
Color & Typography
VISUAL DESIGN
VieMed's brand colors are displayed throughout the app's interface. The selected typefaces are easy to read and friendly.
Nunito
Titles & Headings
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Lk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss
Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Open Sans
Body Text & Captions
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Lk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss
Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Getting to Know VieMed’s Respiratory Therapists
USER RESEARCH
Pre-pandemic, I would go on monthly ride-alongs with respiratory therapists to develop a better understanding of what their patients are like, what motivates them, and what their biggest struggles are. I would share this feedback either in our daily standup or weekly stakeholder meeting.
As a team of stakeholders, we meet with our pilot respiratory therapists via Zoom weekly. We use this time to announce new updates and collect feedback about how things are going in the field. Therapists shared their success stories and frustrations, which helped guide what we worked on next. At the end of the meeting, I posted a Slack recap of what was discussed for anyone who couldn’t make it.
It Wasn’t Always Smooth Sailing...
TESTING
• Patient tablets were not connecting to their ventilators. This was causing data to be unreliable or nonexistent for the respiratory therapists.
• Smartwatches were uncomfortable and challenging for patients to use. They were also not staying connected for more than a few days.
• Therapists would often have to go back to a patient’s home to troubleshoot technical issues. On average, patients live about 2 hours away from their therapist, so this commute was drastically decreasing efficiency.
...But Things Got Better!
• We put a lot of focus on data reliability and making it as easy as possible for our therapists to setup a patient.
• Eliminating the smartwatches from the setup process removed a lot of friction and frustration for both the therapist and patient.
• We started leveraging our IT department to troubleshoot issues faster and more effectively.
Hopes & Dreams
WHAT'S NEXT
Patient-focused interventions
Currently, we alert a respiratory therapist for individual issues via tasks. It would be more efficient, and an overall better experience, to alert the respiratory therapist of all the issues a patient is experiencing at once.
Analytics
Throughout the pilot, we were almost totally reliant on qualitative feedback from our respiratory therapists and patients. We’re working closely with our analytics department and adding trackable data points to our products.
Program expansion
40 of VieMed’s respiratory therapists were able to test and experience all of the app’s features with a pool of 200 patients. We would eventually like to expand this program to all 200 therapists and 8000 patients.
Early concepts for patient-focused interventions
