Israeli Telehealth Service Reduced Hospitalization Rates With New Pilot Program

Israeli at-home telehealth service, Essence SmartCare, announced this week the successful completion of a pilot program that implemented a new remote patient monitoring platform called VitalOn. 

The pilot program was done in collaboration with Israel’s largest HMO, Clalit Health Services, and homecare provider, Sharan Medical Care. 

VitalOn combines telecare, telehealth, and wellness capabilities into a single, comprehensive remote patient monitoring and chronic disease management platform. It provides 24/7 monitoring for a wide range of aging-related and chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and congestive heart failure. The user-friendly solution operates independently, without the need for a smartphone or tablet-based apps.

The pilot facilitated the transferring of dozens of patients from hospitals to their homes to be monitored by the VitalOn system, which is uniquely tailored to each patient’s needs. Early on,  the system demonstrated its life-saving potential by immediately dispatching a medical team to a particular patient’s home when it recognized their oxygen saturation level had plummeted to a life-threatening level. 

“The success of this pilot demonstrates the ability of the VitalOn solution to significantly improve the standard of care that patients can receive in their own homes while easing the burden on critical health services during the current pandemic and beyond,” said Barak Katz, general manager of Essence SmartCare. 

Pilot program leaders see VitalOn’s potential to be particularly promising in regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as it incurs a significant reduction in hospitalization rates and stays, helping to readjust and normalize hospital occupancy levels. 

“The last two years have seen the field of home hospitalization in Clalit expand beyond recognition. At any given time, more than 200 patients are receiving care at home as an alternative to hospitalization, around half of whom are Covid-19 patients,” said Doron Netzer, head of medicine for Clalit’s community division. “This pilot has reduced the number of hospitalizations in internal medicine departments throughout the country and was a significant factor in supporting the hospital system during the fifth wave in January and February of 2022. The collaboration with Essence SmartCare and Sharan expands our ability to monitor patients and provides important tools for monitoring their vital signs.”

“Rehabilitation is generally quicker and more effective when conducted in the comfort of one’s own home, and this is particularly true for elderly and chronic patients,” said Dr. Yves Bitton, Founder and Medical Director of Sharan Medical Care.