I keep getting asked what a VynMed pilot would actually look like from a facility's perspective. We haven't run one yet. We're pre-launch, with zero pilots so far, so what follows is the pilot as I've designed it, not a recap of one that happened. Here's the plain-language version of the week a new pilot site would enter.
Monday of week 1. I'd arrive at the facility with two VynScan units, a first-month supply of compatible test strips, and a binder with the pilot protocol, the data collection sheets, and a short training guide. I'd meet with the DON and whoever she designates as the pilot point person. We'd spend about 30 minutes walking through the device: how to turn it on, how to place a developed strip in front of it, how VynScan captures the photo and posts the record to the dashboard, and what staff do when something doesn't look right. The device captures and preserves the record. Staff read the result the way they already do.
I wouldn't do a formal training class for every staff member. The DON knows her facility better than I do and picks the right moment for an in-service. My job on Monday is to get the champion ready to be the champion.
Tuesday and Wednesday of week 1. The champion would train the rest of the staff in whatever format the facility normally uses for in-service training. That's usually a 20-minute huddle at shift change, repeated across shifts. Staff would practice with a handful of calibration strips. Nobody uses VynScan on a real resident until the champion signs off that the team is comfortable.
Thursday or Friday of week 1. The first real capture happens. Usually it'd be a scheduled, routine screen on a new admission, or a follow-up on a recent recovery. The champion supervises. I'm available by phone. If it goes cleanly, we move on to normal use. If there's any hesitation, we slow down, re-read the protocol, and try again.
Weeks 2 through 12. The facility would use VynScan for whatever routine infection screening it already does. No new clinical workflow on top of what the facility already runs. We wouldn't ask anyone to test more residents or more often than they otherwise would. We'd just replace the paper-and-wait step with a captured, logged step.
Every Wednesday during the 12-week pilot, I'd do a 30-minute data review call with the DON or the champion. We'd look at the week's captures, anything flagged, any questions from staff, and any operational friction. My hope is that three out of four of those calls end early because nothing interesting happened. That's the point. The device is supposed to disappear into the workflow.
Week 6. Midpoint check-in. I'd come back for an in-person hour with the DON and the medical director. We'd pull the dashboard up together and look at the six-week trend. This is the moment where the facility decides whether to keep going or to stop. The option to end the pilot would be built into the agreement, so no facility is ever locked in.
Week 12. Final data pull. I'd sit down with the DON to co-author a short case study, with full editorial review on their side. Nothing gets published without their approval. Then we decide together what happens next: continued use on a standard subscription, expansion to sister sites, or a quiet end of the pilot with the case study on file.
No exclusivity, no multi-year commitment, no strings beyond the 12 weeks. Pilot terms are something I'd work out with each early site directly.
The reason I'm designing the pilot this way is that I don't think any SNF should take on operational risk to help a startup. If the device is going to earn its place in your facility, it should do that on its own merits, visibly, in the first 12 weeks. If it doesn't, the pilot ends on schedule and nobody owes anybody anything.
I'm looking for the first pilot sites in the Las Vegas area right now.