Virtual Intensive Care Improves Results and Outcomes

How OSF OnCall helped one small hospital scale its resources and improve results

For critical care and other smaller facilities, the efficient allocation of resources is essential. With a nationwide shortage of nurses, intensivists and other health professionals, workflow is a daily challenge. When beds are scarce, patients often must be transferred to larger facilities farther from home. The delicate balance of resource management makes for a stressful environment — and the stakes are high.

But new digital health solutions are changing the game. Intensive Care by OSF OnCall combines an expert medical staff, digital technology, predictive analytics and compassionate care to support critical care teams in real time, 24/7/365. With remote support, local intensivists can care for more patients and achieve better patient outcomes, without adding infrastructure or staff.

Assessing the situation

Katherine Shaw Bethea (KSB) Hospital in Dixon, Illinois, is committed to providing an excellent patient experience. The not-for-profit, 80-bed acute care facility offers comprehensive ancillary services including emergency medicine, obstetrics, inpatient and outpatient surgery, intensive care and more. In 2015, KSB approached OSF OnCall seeking to fill gaps in their intensive care services. Their primary goals were:

• To expand capacity in their intensive care unit (ICU); and
• To improve their case mix index (CMI), which determines hospital reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries

With Intensive Care by OSF OnCall, KSB could achieve both objectives by minimizing transfers of critical care patients.

Getting started was easy. A comprehensive needs assessment provided a thorough analysis of KSB’s capabilities, technology needs, reporting metrics, and change management process. On average, KSB had 2-3 active ICU beds at any given time, with one pulmonology intensivist on-staff. Their needs proved similar to other facilities that have partnered with OSF OnCall.

Supporting the bedside team
Like hospitals around the country, KSB was experiencing challenges due to the widespread shortage of local nurses and intensivists. By partnering with OSF OnCall, a centralized hub of nurses and intensivists became available around the clock to the bedside care team. They’re available for consultation, monitoring, process and procedure guidance, mentoring and more — all with a simple push of a button.

With intensivist oversight, best practice guidelines, and monitoring from OSF OnCall, KSB was able to increase workflow efficiencies. By offloading routine tasks such as documentation, assessments and other administrative work, KSB nurses can spend more time focusing directly on patient needs. Patient data is now being monitored in real time, so analytics software can identify patterns and trends to drive earlier diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Results and outcomes
With support from OSF OnCall, KSB has increased its ICU capacity, allowing patients to avoid transfers to unfamiliar facilities and get the care they need closer to home. The hospital is able to access critical care physicians and nurses to assist with the additional volume, while on-site physicians have better and more accurate information. Physicians are less likely to be called after hours, and there are fewer emergencies when they do arrive.

Intensive Care by OSF OnCall now monitors over 200 ICU beds remotely. Our service is associated with a 27% decrease in the average ICU length of stay and a 20% decrease in average ICU mortality. Patients get the care they need more quickly, freeing up beds and resources for others.

Our support is not limited to the ICU, either. Patients can receive OnCall Intensive Care resources wherever you may have intensive care needs. Better operational results, increased services and improved patient outcomes — without adding costly infrastructure or additional staff.

Give us a call or contact us online to speak with a representative who can answer your questions and help you realize the many benefits of virtual intensive care.

To learn more about Intensive Care by OSF OnCall, click here.