Telehealth Admissions for Patients with Advanced Lung Disease
Is your patient ready for hospice care?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with advanced illnesses who may be hospice-eligible are at a higher risk to have significantly worse outcomes if they become infected and are more likely to die in the hospital.
VITAS Healthcare is ready and committed to support the care of these patients. Our mobility-first platform supports telehealth for 24/7/365 admissions of your hospice-eligible patients.
Trust VITAS to ensure your patients’ care goals, wishes, and values are honored while helping to prevent unnecessary ED visits and hospital admissions.
Telehealth Admission Case Study:
CJ, a 75-year-old patient with advanced lung disease, is oxygen-dependent and responding poorly to bronchodilators at home. His symptoms include shortness of breath with minimal exertion, functional decline linked to disease progression, and unintentional weight loss.
Rebecca, his daughter and caregiver, fears taking CJ to the emergency department or having visitors in the home because of COVID-19. She needs more resources to assist with her father’s care and prefers to communicate via FaceTime or telephone.
She agrees to meet with VITAS on her iPad.
- VITAS admissions nurse reviews and confirms CJ’s and Rebecca’s care goals:
- Keep CJ comfortable at home.
- Benefit from a respiratory therapist for CJ.
- Support Rebecca’s role as caregiver.
- VITAS nurse assesses CJ to determine how to manage his dyspnea and anxiety.
- VITAS performs a head-to-toe examination of CJ to understand his overall condition.
- Rebecca shows the VITAS nurse CJ’s medication bottles; the nurse reconciles them with the medication list provided by CJ’s physician.
- VITAS nurse tours CJ’s living space via video to determine appropriate HME and supplies:
- Orders oxygen, a hospital bed, bedside commode, and shower chair.
- Orders medications for CJ’s shortness of breath.
- VITAS social worker reassures Rebecca of her caregiving abilities, provides anxiety management tips, and helps her cope with anticipatory grief.
- VITAS clinical care team, including a respiratory therapist, continues to manage CJ’s care via telehealth and necessary (but limited) in-person visits, as outlined in his plan of care.
In an effort to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, Congress and CMS are allowing healthcare providers to use telehealth to ensure safe, continued care and access to patients and families.
