With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential of and need for telehealth services is more apparent than ever. Representing a first-of-its-kind platform, the TSIM software, developed by the Medical University of South Carolina Center for Telehealth and Ignis Health, has been optimized for use across multidisciplinary teams, allowing for standardizing and scaling telehealth service implementations.

Over the last several years, the telehealth experts at the MUSC Center for Telehealth, one of only two National Telehealth Centers of Excellence in the country, have been busy developing a framework specifically designed to aid health systems in the development and implementation of their own telehealth services, known as the Telehealth Service Implementation Model (TSIM). 

TSIM is a comprehensive framework, originating from the center's own experience implementing telehealth services at MUSC. TSIM guides telehealth programs through multiple phases of implementation by providing step-by-step guidance, ultimately equipping health institutions with the knowledge and tools to enable full-scale telehealth enterprise adoption.

After developing the TSIM framework, Shawn Valenta, MUSC's Center for Telehealth administrator, knew that he and his colleagues had the tools to power a telehealth surge at institutions across the country. He just didn't realize how critical the timing of its development and launch would become.

Valenta knew he wanted to develop software to support his team and have full visibility for systematic management of the 100-plus services they had in different phases of the TSIM framework. Prior to presenting on TSIM at the 2019 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, a HIMSS media article covering the presentation caught the attention of Najib Ben Brahim, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Ignis Health.

Ben Brahim had created a telehealth data analytics platform – Telehealth Resource Program, or TRP, which enables leading health institutions, like MUSC, to analyze its telehealth operations and financial data. Ben Brahim reached out to Valenta, and the two explored innovative pathways for collaboration. 

"We really wanted to be able to share the best practices from the TSIM framework because we realize whether you are creating 100-plus clinical services, or even three or four, the framework is applicable to anybody who's trying to create a service," Valenta explained.

Valenta and Ben Brahim recognized the potential for high-level synergy between TSIM and TRP, and consequently, MUSC Telehealth and Ignis Health set off to transform the TSIM framework into a knowledge-sharing, project-management and customer relationship-management software platform. This platform is designed specifically for managing the complex deployment and operations of scalable and sustainable telehealth services.

"This partnership was created to quickly move forward with high quality, highly reliable telehealth services through a structured framework for the benefit of patient across the country," Valenta said. "Fast forward to this moment in time, when health care providers need technology to meet an emerging public health need that requires physical social distancing. It's important that the health industry be able to turn to an evidence-based and scalable framework, built on years of research of application in these unprecedented times. It feels good to know we're able to contribute something that can make a difference in real time."

About the MUSC Center for Telehealth

The MUSC Health Center for Telehealth is one of only two National Telehealth Centers of Excellence in the country. The center is also the headquarters of the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance.

Using the latest in telehealth technologies, MUSC Health is connecting patients and providers across South Carolina with our expert health care team. MUSC Health is focused on expanding access to services, coordinating care and improving the health of communities. Whether you are a patient needing the care of an MUSC Health specialist through the convenience and comfort of your local doctor's office or a provider interested in partnering to offer expanded services to your patients, MUSC Health has a telehealth program for you. Learn more about the many ways MUSC Health is changing what's possible through telehealth.

TSIM is now available for deployment at telehealth centers across the world. Contact Ignis Health at contact@ignishealth.com or click to schedule a TSIM demonstration today.