Inova Health System

Inova Health System is a non-profit health organization based in Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The system is a network of hospitals, outpatient services, assisted living and long-term care facilities, and healthcare centers.

Inova Health System already had teleICU operations in place providing useful expertise in telemedicine. At the onset of COVID, the CIO, David Quirke, engaged early and directed that telehealth must be a focus to respond to the demands of the pandemic. The operations were led by Steven Dean as Director of Telehealth, Dr. Theresa Davis, Clinical Operations Director of TeleICU and Rachel Lewis as Senior Continuous Improvement specialist. The clinical effort was led by Drs. Neeta Goel, Maruf Haider, and Z Chris as CMO of Ambulatory Physicians, Chief Health Information Officer, and Telemedicine Medical Director respectively.

Inova moved rapidly and developed a robust infrastructure to achieve rapid telemedicine adoption at the start of the pandemic. To operationalize at scale, an all-hands-ondeck collaborative approach, strong support from senior leadership and physician engagement were key. A steering committee of physician leaders and champions across multiple specialties was formed at the very start of the pandemic to engage providers in regular discussions on operational processes and potential barriers, improving overall buy-in and driving adoption…