VirtuAlly Case Study: In-Person Sitter Cost Reduction and Resource Availability Improvement
Overview
Human sitters are valuable members of care teams who protect the safety of behavioral health patients, but they can spread hospital resources thin and cost families thousands.
VirtuAlly recorded average sitter hours before and after its implementation in a nationally-leading hospital’s Psychiatric Emergency Department and a sample of ICUs. Over time, VirtuAlly saved families thousands of dollars per week, reduced patient falls and optimized hospital resources.
Challenge
Especially within the Psychiatric Emergency Department, it’s not uncommon to see patients exhibiting behavioral health distortions who require 1:1 in-person sitters to better ensure the safety of themselves and those around them.
With healthcare resourcing at an all-time low and the demand for in-person sitters remaining steady, hospital staff can find themselves stretched too thinly across multiple patients who are in need of in-person monitoring. This places immense strain on hospital resources, and costs facilities thousands – 24/7 sitter care can cost up to $720/day, or over $5,000 a week.
Impact:
We reviewed patient data following the implementation of VirtuAlly in a Psychiatric Emergency Department and a sample of ICUs. These placements demonstrated a decrease in 1:1 sitter hours, saving hospitals and families up to 65-80% of their total patient monitoring costs.
Implementation of the VirtuAlly system extended benefits far beyond the financial realm, preventing multiple patient self-harm attempts.
Best Outcomes:
In the first month of implementation:
VirtuAlly reduced 1:1 sitter hours in ICUs from an average of 250-450 per month to 50 hours or fewer, reducing costs by up to 89%
Virtual Monitoring Technicians prevented two patients from self-injecting by immediately alerting on-site staff of suspicious behavior
Further, VirtuAlly in the Psychiatric ED:
Reduced the need for on-staff 24/7 sitters from four to just one
Reallocated staff with higher levels of training to provide therapy to behavioral health patients
