Remote Patient Monitoring in an App Boosts Quality at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

The health system found a virtual care app for its weight management program that effectively engaged patients in their care and helped staff improve their patient experience. There's nothing about a person's day that doesn't have an impact on their weight and that's why the team at the Weight Management Center at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist needs to be able to interact and engage with patients as much as possible. "We realized we needed a patient engagement tool that could also support our weight management needs. We wanted to provide an app that patients liked to use as a part of their weight management experience." "In healthcare, there is such a focus on seeing patients in the office, but we've learned we can provide better patient experiences by engaging patients outside of the office in a way that isn't captured by an appointment." Ninety-four percent of patients in the weight management program agree the app was helpful in their weight loss journey, according to studies conducted by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. "Carium doesn't feel like a weight management app; it feels like an app to help patients on their health journey, and our patients find that refreshing," Ard noted. The weight management program already was moving along this path when the pandemic hit, so even though patients' clinic visits transitioned to virtual modes, staff were able to continue to engage patients in a way that was meaningful, Ard said. "In healthcare, there is such a focus on seeing patients in the office, but we've learned we can provide better patient experiences by engaging patients outside of the office in a way that isn't captured by an appointment," Ard advised.