How Hologram & Vital Health Links connect patients with their doctors

Goal

To help healthcare teams coordinate remote care for chronically ill patients

Industry

Healthcare

Region

North America

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Problem

Reliable, secure connectivity: An estimated six in ten US adults have a chronic disease, such as heart disease, and providers are turning to remote patient monitoring (RPM) between office visits to manage patient care. But RPM devices are only as good as their connectivity, so Vital Health Links needed a partner whose connectivity they could rely on. That’s why they turned to Hologram.

Solution

Hologram’s global IoT SIM card enables continuous, reliable coverage across 550+ carriers in 195+ countries. That multi-carrier coverage gives Vital Health Links confidence that their devices will work no matter where patients are, with no need for Wi-Fi. Plus, patient data transmits securely over Hologram’s cellular network, ensuring security and privacy at all times.

How Hologram fits in

Hologram Preflight streamlines Vital Health Links’ processes, as the devices can be tested and provisioned at the factory and remain in hibernation until they are activated, without incurring any data costs.

Hologram’s proactive SIM management and eSIM flexibility ensure that over-the-air updates can be performed on Vital Health Links’ devices, as needed. Since no one will ever need to physically swap SIM cards, devices will maintain connectivity throughout their entire lifespan.

As devices are activated, Vital Health Links turns to the Hologram Dashboard for real-time visibility and proactive alerts on devices and SIM usage.

Vital Health Links’ lifecycle with Hologram

Testing

Vital Health Links relies on Hologram Preflight’s free test data to QA devices at manufacturing before they are packaged and shipped in Hibernate mode. By remaining in Hibernate mode until activated at the clinic, Vital Health Links incurs zero data charges, no matter how much time elapses before a patient is identified.

JoJo Ju, Vital Health Links’ Director of Product Development and Process Improvement, explains, “Preflight is really nice. We don’t have to even open the box. Our manufacturer inserts the Hologram SIM card and sets it in Preflight mode, then the device automatically activates once it transmits a set amount of data. We don’t have to insert the SIMs ourselves or manually keep track of which SIMs are where.”

Activating

The Vital Health Links team is 100% remote and works with clinics spread across the United States, including Federally Qualified Health Centers that often serve rural populations. That means that the devices had to be simple to use for Vital Health Links’ team members, clinic staff, and patients.

Inevitably, Vital Health Links sees a lag between when a clinic receives devices and when they are activated. With Hologram’s global SIM, activation is simple: when a clinician turns on the device, it instantly establishes a private, secure connection with the nearest cell tower — and the patient goes on their way. Clinicians require no training or connectivity knowledge; rather, they only need to note which device is assigned to each patient.

Tracking

JoJo notes, “The Hologram Dashboard is very intuitive. We can see when the device was last used or connected. And yet I don’t feel like I’m getting inundated with a bunch of irrelevant notifications.” JoJo uses the naming and tagging capabilities in Dashboard to sort and view devices across partner clinics. Plus, her Vital Health Links team members can easily access the information in Dashboard with minimal training.

Scaling

Today, Vital Health Links is scaling quickly, even with a small team. JoJo explains, “Hologram’s support makes our growth so much easier. We can add more devices and serve more clinics without worrying about the backend lift.”

Results: proactive patient monitoring that improves health

With Hologram’s reliable connectivity, Vital Health Links is getting devices to the patients who need them most. Real-time data empowers care providers to take action when readings are amiss, helping patients avoid the emergency room. As RPM connects more patients more frequently with their healthcare providers, Vital Health Links and Hologram will help them monitor health conditions from the comfort of home.

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