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As the lead Delfina Guide, I wear a lot of different hats: virtual doula, patient support system, and clinic liaison. Since I live in the Houston Area, I have the privilege of being Delfina’s on-the-ground representative at the Center for Women’s Health. I visit the clinics twice a week to see how providers and patients are using the app, assist them in onboarding and adapting to new features, and gather feedback for how we can improve our care model.
The Center for Women’s Health is a three branch practice in the greater Houston area, and Delfina Care is currently live at all three branches. Since launching in Houston in January, I’ve helped onboard and guide 232 patients—and we onboard more every day! I assist the incredible OBGYNs Dr. Fagbohun and Dr. Rios, who practice across all Center for Women’s Health clinics.
On a typical day, I visit all three branches of the Center for Women’s Health. When I arrive, I connect with the providers and the clinic staff to get a feel for how their workflow has been going over the past few days. I help set up technology, like our in-office Delfina tablets that the doctors use to onboard patients. I also sit down with the providers and medical assistants to update them on any new changes to the app, and get feedback on how we can better support patients in the Delfina Care platform.
It’s been an amazing experience seeing how the Delfina Care platform is already making a difference in a few short months. Before Delfina, the providers at Center for Women’s Health had no way of knowing how patients were doing throughout their pregnancy until their next prenatal appointment. Now that patients can log their moods, symptoms, blood pressure, glucose and weight on the app, Dr. Fagbohun and Dr. Rios can closely monitor their patients and assess whether they might need to adapt the patient's care plan before they miss a valuable window to intervene. Patients used to come in with random data points logged in their Notes App or written on a piece of paper, but now the doctors are up-to-date on their patients' health even before the patient walks through the door. This lets the OBGYNs spend more time during each appointment to counsel patients on health concerns, talk through potential birth plans, and have more in-depth conversations.
Even though I’m only in the clinic a few times a week, I hear from patients both in-person and virtually how much they appreciate the app. A patient who is at a higher risk for gestational diabetes told me that they’re “less stressed” knowing that their doctors can “monitor and see more closely how my glucose levels are before my next appointment.” I hear things like this from patients all the time! “Denise, I love the Delfina app! Just being able to track my mood, symptoms, blood pressure, weight or glucose and knowing that my doctor is monitoring me closely gives me peace of mind.”
Hearing from the providers and patients themselves also lets me relay feedback to our product team more clearly. Though there are a many benefits to having a virtual platform, connecting with and cultivating the community in-person is something that we’ve learned our patients really appreciate. Based on the patients’ needs at the Center for Women’s Health, we are now working on adapting and incorporating additional group patient classes to cover topics like nutrition and breastfeeding support.
Since we launched Delfina Care in Houston, we have already learned so much about how to best assist providers in serving their patients. I am so grateful to be able to support patients during their pregnancy journeys not only virtually as a Delfina Guide, but in person at the Center for Women’s Health.
