Virtual sitters at Lee Health guard against danger to patients, help trim costs

Historically, Lee Memorial Health System, based in Fort Myers, Florida, has had a program to help observe patients who were potentially at risk of hurting themselves while in its facilities.

THE PROBLEM

This could have been a patient who was confused, either chronically or acutely, or who had other medical or psychiatric concerns.

“We would then hire and assign an individual to sit at the bedside with the patient and provide visual and verbal…