Brook Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Improves Health Outcomes and Reduces Overburden for Massachusetts Nurse Practitioner

Aleksandra Alwash always knew she wanted to work in healthcare. She started as a nurse, then went back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner. She found a home at UMass Memorial Health – Harrington in Charlton, Massachusetts.

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, Alwash has discovered a powerful ally in Brook’s Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) service. As an advocate of preventive care, Alwash believes in the importance of identifying and addressing potential health issues before they escalate. However, for patients already diagnosed with chronic conditions, her focus shifts to mitigating and preventing complications. “That’s what draws me into Brook,” Alwash began. “I can prevent future issues in my patients with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic heart failure.”

One of the key advantages Alwash highlights is the ability for Brook RPM to provide continuous monitoring for her patients. With a busy schedule, it is impossible for her to physically see every patient every day. “Brook gives me someone who can monitor my patients, since I can’t see every single patient every single day in office,” Alwash shared. “But I know someone from Brook is looking over my patients while they are out of office.”

Capturing reliable health data through Brook RPM is another significant benefit for Alwash, as relying solely on what patients relay during office visits can lead to an incomplete or inaccurate picture of their health. Brook RPM gives Alwash access to a wealth of patient data she knows is trustworthy. This allows her to make informed decisions regarding medication changes, ensuring that she neither adds unnecessary prescriptions nor removes necessary ones. It also helps eliminate the challenge of "white coat syndrome," where patients experience elevated blood pressure due to stress during in-person visits, making it difficult to gauge their true health status. “While I trust my patients, I can’t go off what someone tells me,” Alwash explained. “I need factual data, and Brook gives me that.”

Alwash can set individual parameters for each patient regarding their care plan as well as triage thresholds for each type of data being collected, enabling personalized monitoring. A dedicated nurse monitor provided by Brook keeps track of every patient's progress and reports back to Alwash on a weekly basis. This collaborative approach ensures that Alwash remains informed about her patients' health status, enabling her to provide timely interventions or adjustments to their care plans.

Reviewing recent health data and nurse monitor notes through Brook also allows Alwash to be better prepared for patient visits. She can interpret and identify crucial points to discuss with her patients ahead of time, ensuring that time during in-person visits is optimized, as important discussions can take place without relying on a single measurement or hurried interpretations. Patients themselves become more engaged in their care, actively participating by regularly taking measurements, engaging with the nurse monitor, and utilizing Brook's team of nutritionists and health experts through a smartphone app.

With the option for patients to directly ask dedicated Brook nurses or the team of Brook Health Coaches questions about their health through their smartphones, the office experiences fewer inquiries and interruptions. This streamlining of communication and support empowers patients to proactively manage their health, while alleviating the burden on healthcare professionals.

Alwash has witnessed success across her patient base since implementing Brook. “There’s always something there that my patients can be excited about,” Alwash added, “whether it’s keeping their blood pressures under control, losing weight, or getting in extra steps using their Fitbit. All of it has been very successful for us.” The integration of Brook has even succeeded in engaging patients who were previously considered "noncompliant," empowering them to actively participate in their own healthcare. “People want to get more involved in their own health once they see their data and progress flowing into Brook,” she explained. 

As patients engage with Brook, improved health outcomes are being driven by eliminating various obstacles that hinder patient care. Tasks that required in-person appointments, transportation, and time away from work or can now be conveniently accomplished remotely. “I always tell my patients: ‘All you have to do is take the measurements, we’ll take care of the rest,’ and that has been a gamechanger for a lot of them,” Alwash muses. This newfound convenience and accessibility empower patients to take control of their health without sacrificing their daily routines.

Beyond individual patient care, Alwash sees the healthcare industry as a whole benefiting from this technology. By enabling remote monitoring and proactive prevention, Brook RPM saves valuable time, reduces costs, and optimizes the utilization of healthcare resources. This transformative approach has the potential to shape the future of healthcare delivery, providing efficient and effective care to a wider population.

In light of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of remote healthcare solutions like Brook has become even more evident. “After COVID, everything changed, specialty offices are overbooked with all the appointments we couldn’t do during lockdown. Everybody is overwhelmed. So being able to monitor from home and practice prevention reduces the number of visits needed. That helps make room for people I really do need to see in the office.”

At the end of the day, Alwash cares about doing the right thing for her patients. Augmenting her practice with Brook not only improves her workload and optimizes her triage process, but her patients love it, too. “My patients feel safe when they’re on Brook. It’s about patient-centered care and being a team together; me, the patient, and Brook.” 

By facilitating continuous monitoring, providing factual data, and promoting patient engagement, Brook significantly improves health outcomes. It empowers patients to actively participate in their own care, reduces complications and hospitalizations, streamlines communication, and enhances the overall efficiency of healthcare delivery. As technology continues to shape the future of medicine, Brook stands out as a vital tool in advancing patient-centered care, promoting preventive measures, and revolutionizing the healthcare industry as a whole.

About Brook

Brook is a healthtech company based in Seattle, Washington providing Remote Care services to partners across the country. Brook Remote Care is a suite of services including Remote Patient Monitoring for chronically complex patients, a fully digital CDC-recognized Diabetes Prevention Program, Telehealth dietitian services, chronic disease self management programs, and more. 

Learn more about Brook and what it can do for you by emailing us at hello@brook.health