UMMC, UM Pharmacy Tackle Health Access with Telehealth Services

Carly Brown, a clinical pharmacist at the School of Pharmacy’s Jackson campus, works with the remote patient monitoring program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Center for Telehealth.

“Telehealth services are important because they increase access to care by bringing health care resources directly into a patient’s home,” Brown said. “Services such as remote patient monitoring help supplement care that patients are already receiving in traditional clinic settings by providing additional touchpoints in between in-person visits in an effort to improve clinical outcomes.”

Remote patient monitoring is a form of telehealth that utilizes technology to enable monitoring of patients outside of conventional clinic settings. The telehealth center offers home monitoring for several chronic conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, CHF and COPD.

The Center for Telehealth is recognized as one of only two federally designated Centers of Excellence in Telehealth by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Brown has provided her services to the center since the spring of 2021.

Within the remote patient monitoring program, Brown works with a team of physicians, registered nurses and pharmacy residents.

“By working under a collaborative practice agreement with UMMC physicians, I am able to review each patient’s biometrics and provide medication management using a pre-approved protocol,” said Brown, who is also a preceptor for the Mississippi Department of Health’s PGY1 residency program and School of Pharmacy Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences students. 

There are currently around 250 patients enrolled across all of the center’s RPM programs. Around 130 are of those patients are enrolled in the medication management programs for diabetes, hypertension and COPD, which Brown directly oversees.

Patients enrolled in the program receive a tablet and a monitoring device, such as a glucometer or blood pressure cuff, depending on the chronic condition being monitored. The devices use Bluetooth technology and record each measurement into the patient’s chart so their providers are also able to review them.

In addition to medication management, patients also receive daily nurse monitoring and health education through their tablet and from their nurse as needs are identified.

“Most patients are only able to be seen by their primary care provider every six months, sometimes every three months, for chronic disease management and medication adjustments,” said Tanya Tucker, clinical programs manager at the center. 

“Because we’re receiving daily measurements from patients, RPM is able to adjust medications either biweekly or monthly because the team can see how the patient is responding to the adjustments in real time.”

 To qualify for the program, patients must receive a referral from their provider to be considered for enrollment. With a provider referral, the RPM program is typically covered by the patient’s insurance.