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COVID-19

Driving remote care

The pandemic didn’t force us to reimagine patient care. We’d already started.

For decades, Medtronic has innovated to overcome challenges and ensure patients got the care they needed. COVID-19 created an entirely new set of challenges and called for bold thinking and bold action. Never has the need for our remote care tools been more urgent than now — when hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and must take steps to limit clinician and patient exposure to the virus. To enable ongoing care for all patients, we employ remote technology powered by data and insight.

Remote technology enhances patient care

Healthcare has always been hands-on, but remote technology is changing its delivery. Doctors carry iPads™ instead of satchels. Patients with diabetes can now get personalized alerts about their glucose levels on their smartphones connected to one of our apps and stand-alone continuous glucose monitoring systems. Nothing can replace in-person care, but technology helps us navigate a world where distance keeps us apart.¹

Reducing clinician and patient exposure to COVID-19

Medtronic introduced the world’s first remote cardiac monitoring system in 2002, and today it is used by two million patients worldwide. The technology is playing a key role during the pandemic by keeping these patients out of hospitals and clinics. Our Bluetooth™-enabled cardiac devices can be programmed from a distance by clinicians, reducing exposure to the virus for both patient and providers.

Telehealth services protect the protectors

The coronavirus spares no one, not even our bravest men and women — military veterans. When COVID-19 hit the United States, Medtronic quickly developed new remote monitoring solutions — based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for COVID-19 — for patients served by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Home Telehealth program. Once the solution was in place at the VA, Medtronic rolled out a similar offering for other hospital systems and even to our own employees.

Remote medical care for pandemic patients

In a matter of weeks, we developed, piloted, and launched a software upgrade for our most advanced ventilator to enable onsite remote monitoring and management. When COVID-19 cases surged in New York City, state and federal government converted the cavernous Jacob K. Javits Convention Center into a field hospital. To help, a Medtronic team quickly deployed several technologies to remotely monitor the oxygen saturation in patients’ blood to enable detection of respiratory deterioration. The setup would normally take weeks. They did it in two days.

Our remote monitoring solutions can help clinicians stay safe while focusing on what matters most – delivering quality patient care.”

–John Liddicoat, M.D., Executive Vice President and President, Medtronic Americas Region

No in-person training? No problem.

The pandemic challenged us to find new ways to train medical professionals on the safe use of our devices and therapies, many of which were critically needed to treat COVID-19 patients. We shifted training online, using web-based tools and extended reality platforms. When a doctor in Qatar reached out for help operating one of our implantable pain medication pumps, a Medtronic specialist in Saudi Arabia walked him through the steps via virtual chat. And when doctors in India combatting the highly infectious Delta variant needed to be quickly trained how to use our ventilators, we offered an online learning platform featuring instructors and industry experts.

Moving on to the next challenge

Remote tools have been essential during the pandemic and will continue to play a pivotal role expanding access to better patient care. We’ll keep asking the hard questions and allowing our curiosity to propel us toward new discoveries. And we’ll keep finding new ways to make people’s lives better, planning for the next big discovery, and standing ready to take on the next challenge.

https://innovations.clevelandclinic.org/Programs/Top-10-Medical-Innovations/Top-10-for-2021/3-Smartphone-Connected-Pacemaker-Devices

iPad is a trademark of Apple, Inc.
The Bluetooth^® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such mark by Medtronic is under license.

Driving remote care

The pandemic didn’t force us to reimagine patient care. We’d already started.

Remote technology enhances patient care

Reducing clinician and patient exposure to COVID-19

Telehealth services protect the protectors

Remote medical care for pandemic patients

Our remote monitoring solutions can help clinicians stay safe while focusing on what matters most – delivering quality patient care.”

No in-person training? No problem.

Moving on to the next challenge

Driving remote care

Mission as a blueprint

Supporting healthcare systems