North York General Hospital has launched a new virtual care program to protect patients and prevent hospital readmissions through remote monitoring.
North York at Home (home care program)
Surgical Transitions
The purpose of this virtual care application is to decrease the number of recurring visits to the Emergency Department through enhanced symptom monitoring and rapid care.
Remotely monitoring your condition through a remote patient monitoring app at home can be used for:
Monitoring your progress and checking in while you are at home to answer your questions or concerns
Allowing you to directly connect with the remote patient monitoring team via text (while using the app).
** response times may vary
This program is not intended for emergency situations and there is no real-time monitoring provided. If there is immediate risk of harm or you think you may require emergency care, please call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest emergency department.
A team of remote monitoring nurses and social workers will be monitoring your condition daily. The team will reach out to you via smartphone app and/or telephone call on a regular basis to support your care needs. In certain circumstances, your care may be escalated to a physician via telephone or video visit for further assistance. We will work with you to understand how your symptoms may be changing so that you will be able to feel more comfortable and confident in your recovery. We will also work with you to assess potential health concerns before your condition worsens.
If you are using a smartphone or other electronic device to connect with our monitoring team, we recommend that you use a Wi-Fi connection rather than a mobile data plan, if possible.
When your referral is received, you will be contacted by a member of the remote patient monitoring team to tell you more about the program, answer your questions and take you through the steps to begin.
Once you are enrolled in the program, you will use an app on your smart phone or device to answer questions about your health and how you are feeling. Your responses to the questions will be shared with and reviewed by the team. We may follow up with you over the phone to ask you more questions about your health. If you do not have a smart phone or device, the team will call you to ask you questions about your health and well being.
We have implemented processes, policies and procedures to ensure that your health information is secure. However, even with best efforts to ensure privacy and security, there is a small risk that your health information could be intercepted or disclosed to third parties while it is being transmitted from one location to another. Please ask your monitoring team representative if you have further questions or concerns.
If your symptoms worsen and if you are not feeling well, a physician may check on you by phone or a video call. It is important to remember that the remote monitoring program is not an emergency response program. If you have any symptoms of severe illness, please visit your nearest emergency department.