Mount Sinai Spinoff Creates Coronavirus Virtual Toolkit for Hospitals

The Mount Sinai Health System spinoff Rx.Health is putting together a digital toolkit that will make it easier for hospitals to implement screening and virtual care for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US have risen to 3487 and there have been 68 deaths, according to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Americans have been advised to stay indoors and as of March 15, 2020, the CDC is urging the cancellation or postponement of in-person events with ≥50 people throughout the country.

With more people staying home, telehealth is increasingly being used by hospitals to help identify those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 before they drive into an emergency department or hospital.

“Many systems are having their first visit be a digital triage instead of seeing a physician,” said Ashish Atreja, MD, MPH, co-founder of Rx.Health and chief innovation officer of medicine at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine to MedCityNews. “This may become a pivotal moment in digital health. Adoption has been growing.”

The toolkit, called the COVereD initiative, curates and integrates a set of high-value digital tools under 1 platform that can be prescribed directly through electronic health records.

The toolkit will take 1 day to implement and include:

• Electronic guides that can be sent to patients

• Digital triage linked with appointment reminders to identify patients at high-risk of exposure

• Telehealth platform and tools to digitally monitor quarantined patients

• Checklists and quizzes to help prepare health care workers on the front lines

For example, Rx.Health integrated digital triage with appointment reminders so that health systems can determine if a patient has a high risk of being exposed to COVID-19, Atreja told MedCityNews. It can also be helpful in assuring people who are worried about the virus that they can stay home.

Rx.Health has been making toolkits since it was launched in 2018 and vets the different technologies integrated into their platform by looking at clinical evidence, determining if the technology meets security and HIPAA requirements, and if they follow clinical protocols.

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