Successful programs using remote patient monitoring and remote physical exams are reducing barriers to care for New York’s hardest to reach patients.
Sunset Park Family Health Center at NYU Langone serves almost 150,000 patients across New York City. For the last two years, Sunset Park received funding through HRSA’s Quality Improvement Fund-Optimizing Virtual Care (OVC) award. The OVC funding allowed 29 health centers to develop and evaluate innovative virtual care methods. The center used the funding to increase access to remote patient monitoring and remote physical exams among patients who are typically hard to reach.
“The OVC grant provided access for patients who would not otherwise access care,” said Dr. Isaac P. Dapkins, Chief Medical Officer.
The center’s remote patient monitoring program for high blood pressure has proven to be effective. By providing patients with Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitors to take home, it significantly increases access to care. “It’s leveling the playing field in terms of differences in hypertension outcomes across race and ethnicity,” Dapkins said. Overall, hypertension control improved by more than five percentage points throughout the program.
Building on that success, Sunset Park launched an effort that uses high-tech equipment to conduct fully remote physical exams for patients experiencing homelessness and behavioral health issues. Patient navigators arrange exams between care teams and hard-to-reach patients at homeless shelters and other community locations. The patient navigator helps people use the equipment’s built-in camera, stethoscope, thermometer, and heart rate monitor. The new exam equipment is “revolutionizing the way we deliver virtual care to patients,” said Erica Scher, a nurse practitioner. From November 2023 to February 2024, the center conducted about 100 remote exams among patients experiencing homelessness.
Next, Sunset Park plans to expand its outreach to more people in shelters, children in school settings, and patients with high hospitalization rates. “This is the core mission of health centers,” said Dr. Dapkins. “It’s to provide services to everybody, regardless of their ability to navigate the system.”