Hybrid Medical Follow-up For High-Risk Pregnant Women

Hybrid medical follow-up offers an excellent option for high-risk pregnant women, combining exceptional care with the convenience essential to their needs. This approach allows them to maintain their daily routines, careers, and transform lengthy waits and travel times into precious moments with family and children before the new arrival.

The service, under the management of Dr. Avi Tsur, BEYOND Gynecology and Midwifery Manager, and Esther Geller, the head nurse of BEYOND Gynecology and Midwifery, makes it possible to replace a significant portion of clinic visits with home monitoring. The remote monitoring includes, among other things, a monitor test and a home ultrasound test.

The service was jointly established by the Women's Hospital, led by Prof. Eyal Sivan, and Sheba BEYOND Hospital, under Dr. Galia Barkai.

Who is the service for?

The service is designed for women with at-risk pregnancies carrying a single fetus, between weeks 20 and 38, who are within 30 kilometers of the Sheba Medical Center during the online follow-up. The distance limit ensures that, if signs of distress are detected, we can make sure you get to the hospital quickly and safely.
 

What are the main benefits of the service?

The primary benefits of the service include avoiding hospital visits and long waits between tests. For instance, if there's an hour gap between your monitor test and ultrasound, you can use that time for other activities.

Many high-risk pregnant women have underlying conditions like Crohn's, colitis, epilepsy, among others. BEYOND online treatments allow for easy coordination between pregnancy doctors and specialists from other fields, enabling them to join a joint video call with the patient together.

What does the service cost?

Women covered by Maccabi can get the service for free using a one-time Funding Form (form 17). Once they start the service, they get follow-ups (online or at the hospital) for free, without needing any extra approval.

How does remote patient monitoring work?

For high-risk pregnant women, visits can vary from once to several times a week. The initial visit, part of the BEYOND hybrid service, always takes place in person at the Sheba Medical Center's high-risk pregnancy clinic.

During your visit, you'll get all the necessary home monitoring technology at no extra cost. This includes a home ultrasound device, a baby monitor, a digital blood pressure monitor, and more, all with clear instructions for use.

In addition, you will be asked to install on your mobile device the home monitoring application for high-risk pregnant women, and you'll be trained on how to use it.

As part of the home monitoring process, women requiring frequent sugar or blood pressure checks will record their readings in the app. In the event of any anomalies, you'll receive a notification, prompting the medical team to get in touch with you to refine your treatment plan accordingly.

How is the online consultation carried out?

Each online consultation starts with a video call with the hospital midwife using the app. During the call, you'll be asked, among other things, if you feel contractions, suspect any water loss, or if you're not feeling regular fetal movements.

If any of these three criteria are met or you need a more advanced imaging test, we'll ask you to come to the hospital for further checks instead of doing a remote follow-up. If everything looks normal, the midwife will tell you to use the home monitoring device to send images directly to her.

Later, you'll need to connect your home ultrasound device. Once connected, the images will be sent straight to the ultrasound technician.

After all the tests, you'll have a remote call with your doctor to discuss the results and findings. Following each home follow-up, we'll let you know whether your next one will be online or at the hospital clinic, based on clinical needs.