Cincinnati VAMC innovation specialist recognized for contributions to advancement of remote patient monitoring
Dr. Lindsay Riegler, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Entrepreneur in Residence Fellow, Innovation Specialist, and Speech-Language Pathologist at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).
Dr. Riegler was selected for a 2022 Service to the CitizenTM Award for her work in the advancement of remote patient monitoring (RPM).
“The past three years have tested the resilience of government institutions, the workforce, and existing policies and procedures.” Founder of the Service to the Citizen Awards Martha Dorris stated in a letter to Dr. Riegler. “We are proud to honor excellence in service and the many successes demonstrated this year. You're being recognized for your work at the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”
As with most aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a demand for innovative solutions in health care, and the surge in telehealth services offered to Veterans made apparent opportunities for growth in RPM. This is where Dr. Riegler stepped in.
According to her nomination, Dr. Riegler recognized a need for “clinician workload capture for successful national scaling of remote temperature monitoring.”
Following a pilot period for Store and Forward workload capture, Dr. Riegler led efforts between VA, VHA National Program Offices, clinical experts, information technology specialists, and data professionals to detail steps forward to sustain and proliferate RPM endeavors.
“In 2021, the RPM program experienced tremendous growth, which as the field of RPM grows, may be an indicator of the importance of developing a scalable framework,” Kristopher Teague, Executive Director, VHA Innovation Ecosystem, stated in the nomination. “Dr. Riegler’s thought leadership in designing the VHA remote patient monitoring framework of the future will position RPM as the standard of care.”
This evolution in RPM, spurred by Dr. Riegler, enables the monitoring of Veterans outside of conventional hospital and outpatient clinic settings, and has resulted in expanded access to care, reduced admission rates, and improved experiences with VA providers for upward of nine-million Veterans at more than one-thousand facilities nationwide.
Dr. Riegler will be honored during the Service to the Citizen Awards: Champions of Change Program, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The event will be held in-person at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, and virtually via Zoom. Those interested in attending can register here.
For more information about Dr. Riegler’s achievement, visit Lindsay Riegler | STTC Awards (servicetothecitizen.org).