Sheboygan tests new software solution for Rogers telehealth treatment
12/15/23 03:00:pm
An enhanced telehealth treatment platform is currently undergoing testing at Rogers’ Sheboygan clinic.
Rogers purchased the technology Class after an exhaustive year-long search. Since June 2023, Signa Meyers, vice president of strategic initiatives, has been working with teams across the organization, including Information Technology Services and Rogers Operating System team members, to develop a rollout plan.
“Class is a blackboard-based platform,” explains Signa, “They have contracts with large schools and the military who use it mainly for classroom instruction and training. We’ve partnered with them to design a first-of-its-kind custom virtual platform for behavioral health. It will meet the needs of our patients and care teams in a HIPAA compliant environment. We’ve taken what we’ve learned since COVID, and we’ve improved the experience for everyone.”
Class enhances patient safety and engagement while reducing the burden on patient care teams.
“At a glance, clinicians can have eyes on all of their patients for the entire day, even when they’re in their individual breakout rooms for treatment assignments,” she says. “That’s important because we can ensure that they’re in programming, and we can document when they check in and out. The care team can move between patients effortlessly as well as email, chat, or send customized content to specific rooms.”
Additionally, Class has robust analytic tools to pull data on patient participation, speaking time, and attendance to help measure treatment effectiveness and improve outcomes.
Sheboygan is the first clinic to use the platform in its virtual Focus Depression Recovery adult partial hospitalization program.
“We opened the program in October around the same time Class was ready to be tested, so it just made sense for us to use it,” says Rose Luehrs, PhD, Sheboygan clinical supervisor.
Dr. Luehrs says the team continues to work with developers at Class as they identify areas for improvement. She’s pleased what she sees and is excited about the whiteboard feature.
“Once the facilitator shares their screen, everyone can participate by editing or drawing at the same time, so you can see what each person is contributing,” she says. “I think it will be really helpful.”
Signa hopes the four states using Rogers’ current telehealth platform for their virtual programs - Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin - will switch from Microsoft Teams to Class by spring of 2024.
