Boston-based Mass General Brigham has appointed a new executive to lead a vast expansion of its remote patient monitoring, the health system said July 11.
Heather O'Sullivan was named Mass General Brigham's inaugural president of home-based care. The health system plans to grow its hospital-at-home program from 25 patients today to more than 200 in the next 2½ years to save money and better manage capacity, the Boston Globe reported July 11.
"Due to the COVID pandemic and the evolving needs of our community, we have seen an accelerated demand for home hospital offerings," Gregg Meyer, MD, president of the community division and executive vice president of value-based care for Mass General Brigham, said in a news release from the health system. "We are dedicated to placing patients at the center of everything we do, no matter where they are, and the future of healthcare is in the home."
Ms. O'Sullivan previously served as executive vice president and chief clinical innovation officer for Kindred at Home.
The program will start with patients who leave the hospital after an operation and expand to patients who are referred to an "at-home" hospital bed through the emergency room or their physician, the Globe reported. They will be treated via virtual appointments and in-person visits from paramedics and other providers. The new initiative will require an additional 200 employees to be hired over the next 12 months.