Ochsner Beefs Up Remote Patient Monitoring With Tyto Care Deal
Ochsner Health is boosting its mHealth and RPM capabilities with a deal to distribute Tyto Care's mHealth devices to patients. Tyto Care has also announced a new partnership with Best Buy and Sanford Health.
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By - The Ochsner Health System has unveiled a branded mHealth kit designed to help patients collect and track their vital signs at home for on-demand urgent care and participate in remote patient monitoring platforms.
The New Orleans-based health system is partnering with telehealth provider American Well and digital health company Tyto Care in the Ochsner Anywhere Care Health Kit, which features a handheld device with a touchscreen. Developed by Tyto Care, the device allows users to complete a physical examination at home, then log onto Ochsner’s Anywhere Care direct-to-consumer telehealth portal through an app to share the data with his or her care team.
During the exam, patients can use their own mobile device to communicate with their care team via remote video, enabling providers to complete an exam, diagnose certain conditions, arrange follow-up care and prescribe medications.
“By teaming up with Tyto Care and American Well to further expand our virtual visit offerings, we are improving accessibility to medical care and literally putting health in the hands of consumers,” David Houghton, MD, Medical Director of Ochsner CareConnect 360, said in a press release.
The mHealth device will cost roughly $300, and can be ordered online through the health system or purchased at Ochsner pharmacy locations, O Bar retail stores, Ochsner Fitness Centers and Ochsner Total Health Solutions. Some insurers may also offer a discount.
Aside from RPM programs initiated by the health system, the device can also be used as part of a DTC telehealth platform, giving local residents 24/7 access to providers for urgent care needs. A typical visit in that setting costs $54.
The program builds on two fast-moving connected health trends: remote patient monitoring programs that enable health systems to provide care to patients at home, and patient-facing mHealth devices that allow clinicians to capture clinically reliable data in the home setting.
The news comes in the midst of a busy two months for Tyto Care, an Israeli startup that burst onto the scene in 2016 with strong support from American Well. Just this morning, the company announced a partnership with Best Buy to market its consumer-facing TytoHome mHealth product. The $300 device will first be available online and in Minnesota stores, with expansion to Best Buy stores in other states coming in the near future.
With this retail move, Tyto Care is also partnering with payers and health systems to facilitate online urgent care visits. The company announced that has a deal with Sanford Health to provide connected care visits through TytoHome to residents in Minnesota and North and South Dakota.
The company is also beefing up its technology. In February, Tyto Care announced a partnership with Vidyo to integrate the latter’s VidyoConnect telemedicine platform with Tyto Care devices, giving users and clinicians to conduct virtual care visits.
