Why Sanford Health is all in virtual care

While rural suppliers continue to deal with work shortages and access challenges, Sanford Health doubles virtual care – not only as a service, but as an integrated model for training, retention and community health.

This month at the Reuters Digital Health Conference in Nashville, Jeremy Cauwels, head doctor of Sanford, explained what it looks like the system based in Sioux Falls, in southern Dakota, which operates in several Midwest states.

Sanford doctors of 79 specialties have provided virtual care this year – and these virtual visits save on average 176 miles in the car trip per patient, said Cauwels.

“It is a half-service of gas for certain vehicles and half a day of work,” he said.

Not only is virtual care more practical for patients, but it can also help fill the critical gaps in access, but has added Cauwels.

He noted that a decade ago in rural areas surrounding Bemidji, Minnesota, there were five community hospitals who all had at least one primary care doctor who had delivered babies. Now this number is zero, he said.

To solve this problem, Sanford uses virtual tools, such as portable ultrasounds and vital kits, in emergency services to assess and support pregnant women remotely.

“We are able to connect practically not only to Maman, but to these local emergency rooms, and to make the decision 100 miles away to find out whether mom must be shipped or not to Bemidji for the only obstetrics in the region, or whether she can stay at home or not to recover,” said Cauwels.

He also pointed out that the alternation of virtual visits and in person helps maintain continuity of care and compliance with obstetric directives, which leads to better maternal and fetal results. Overall, he believes that more frequent communication by virtual means helps prevent avoidable visits to creating problems early.

The tools that improve patient monitoring and monitoring also facilitate the emotional burden of doctors, which leads to better satisfaction with work and retention, said Cauwels.

He noted that Sanford is entirely determined to extend the scope and impact of virtual care – so much so that the health system has built a physical center that supports the training of virtual care and provides technological infrastructure.

“People would say,” You don’t need a building to do so. We need a building because we must be able to teach it.

This virtual care center gives clinicians a place to learn, think and engage in patient care using technology, he said.

By investing in both people and technology, Sanford seeks to create a more sustainable future for suppliers and a more accessible system for patients.

Photo: Tonefotografia, Getty Images