Leveraging Virtual Tools to Mitigate Maternity Care Deserts

The MHC program offers pre-pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum maternal health services through a team of maternal-fetal medicine providers, obstetrical providers, registered nurses and doulas, Richards said.The care teams lease space in community healthcare facilities to set up MHC clinics. For instance, in Evanston, the MHC team has leased space at a medical group clinic, while in Montana, they have leased space at the two critical access hospitals.Patients are typically referred to MHC through local providers, community organizations, public health services or self-referral. Richards explained that once the clinic receives the request, an MHC registered nurse reaches out to the patient, describes the program and offers an enrollment visit. Following that, the nurse reaches out to the patient's OB and lets them know that the patient wants to participate in the MHC program.

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The first patient visit takes place in person at the MHC clinic, after which visits are conducted virtually or in the patient's home, Richards said. The RNs meet with the patients every two weeks through pregnancy and up to two months postpartum. Then, they meet with the patient monthly until one year postpartum.Using telehealth technology, the RN facilitates prenatal visits with the patient's OB provider, mitigating the need for travel for what is usually a short 15-minute appointment, Richards said. Further, the care team tracks patient vitals using RPM devices, such as blood pressure cuffs, thermometers and pulse oximeters.

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