At Moving Analytics, we often get asked if a virtual cardiac rehab program is the right choice for a provider partner that we work with. To help with your decision, we have crafted a quick checklist to help you determine your path to virtual salvation. These points have been honed and developed through the collaborations that we have had with our partners.

Let's jump in!

 1) Clarify your WHY?

"What is your WHY?" - is the first question we aim to determine when working with our partners. Why are you looking at virtual cardiac rehab? Are you trying to reach patients who would not otherwise get care? Are you looking to improve your patient's outcomes or satisfaction or trying to increase access to care? Are there are strategic initiatives that are driving adoption? Are you curious? Are you looking innovate into your program?There is no right or wrong answer - but knowing your WHY will help optimize your day to day processes, help you at various decision points and pick you upas you hit speed bumps. So, start here.

 2) your numbers

The next step to implementing a virtual cardiac rehab program is determining how many potential patient lives you can impact. A smaller patient population means that you will have different staffing and budgetary needs than a larger patient population. A key point to note is that a smaller patient population does not mean that your impact level as an organization will be low. It just means that you will design your protocols and workflows differently.

 3) Select your target patient population

Alright, so you know your numbers. The next step is to determine what subset of patients you will target. Working age adults? Older patients? Specific diagnoses or risk profiles? Knowing the patients that you want to target allows you to craft specific content and curricula that match their specific needs and challenges faced. A very important step here is to understand how and from where you will be recruiting your patients (preferably through EHR-based workflows).

 4) Determine the staff that will be leading the program

The success of any program is driven by the staffing right people behind it.Virtual cardiac rehab is no exception. The people required to run a virtual cardiac rehab program includes care managers who will be interacting with and coaching patients, front line staff who will manage program logistics, administrators who will track and ensure quality and compliance and more. Knowing not just the roles but the specific people who will be responsible for those the roles will go a long way toward success.

 5) Find budgets

Staffing and facilities need capital to be able to do their job successfully. Hence bringing in and collaborating with operating stakeholders early is extremely important. The main point about budgets is to focus on the value being generated. That value need not always be monetary in nature. Sometimes, the trick is to be creative - is there funding sparked by strategic priorities or through innovation grants? Are there a set of urgent circumstances that provide access to hitherto untapped resources? Are there other funding opportunities from departments adjacent to yours that you can tap into? Can you get milestone-based funding as you show higher value over time?

6) Building a road map for sustainability

The longevity of a virtual cardiac rehab program is built both on initial success and a road map for stability. When seeking funding, it's important to think about both short and long-term success. Central to developing this road map is to align the program with both short and long term strategic priorities of your parent organization. We've seen quite a few programs that capitalize on short term goals but not plan for years 2, 3, and beyond. As you seek this alignment, constantly revisit the earlier five points to see if they change.

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