Baylor Scott & White expands COVID-19 at-home monitoring app
Baylor Scott & White Health has expanded its digital care platform to include support for children who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The service, which has been available to patients ages 18 and older since May, includes detailed quarantine instructions, twice-daily symptom checking, dedicated care management, and telehealth visits.
“With COVID, it made us all come out of our comfort zone when we really think about how we can deliver care in a different way that keeps people out of the office that don’t have to be there, but still makes sure that they get the care that they need,” said Dr. Tiffany Berry, a family medicine physician and chief medical officer of Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance.
With the Baylor Scott & White MyBSWHealth app, the health care system has provided nearly 265,000 digital health screenings and more than 65,000 telehealth visits related to the coronavirus.
“People feel very supported,” Berry said. “They feel like we’re right along there with them. They don’t have to wonder, ‘What do I do if I get worse?’ They know that we have a process. As a parent, I think that this is vitally important.”
A medical record is established with Baylor Scott & White when a person begins using the app, so they do not need to be an existing patient.
Aside from the COVID-related care options, the app provides digital access to direct communication with Baylor Scott & White care teams, prescription management, appointment scheduling, and virtual visits.
The app was launched in 2018. It is available on Google Play or in the Apple App Store. You can receive a link to download the app by texting BETTER to 88408.
Those who think they might have contracted the virus can fill out Baylor Scott & White’s online screening questionnaire at bswhealth.com/COVID19.