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Chairman's Corner
Judith A. Bishop, Chairman/CEO
One of the challenges of driving unnecessary costs out of America's fragmented health care "system" is aligning the incentives of patients, providers, and payors. All too often we see competing interests that drive up the costs for everyone.
It's refreshing when we see the incentives aligned and working for the benefit of patients, as is the case with Guardian Home Care's new Safe Life at Home HealthSTATS program. HealthSTATS is a remote telemonitoring technology, which works in concert with three of our home clinical management programs – congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes.
Remote monitoring capabilities include blood pressure, heart rate, weight, oxygen saturation, and blood glucose measurements. Research shows that telemonitoring promotes better clinical outcomes and patient self-care compliance.
Here's how the incentives are aligned. With remote monitoring, patients receive real-time observation and assessment of critical indicators in their disease management. Patients gain a better understanding of how to manage their disease more effectively.
This leads to fewer hospitalizations. In fact, a 2005 Tufts SPAN-CHF II study revealed a 63 percent reduction in all cause hospitalizations with use of telemonitoring.
Hospitals now have a financial incentive not to re-admit patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) push for "Value Based Purchasing" means that higher quality outcomes equal higher Medicare reimbursement. Hospitals are now penalized with lower reimbursement for readmissions occurring within 72 hours.
A 2009 research study by Avalere confirmed that home care reduces hospital readmissions. Over a three-year period, early home care use by patients with CHF, COPD, and diabetes reduced Medicare post-hospitalization by $2.65 billion. Telemonitoring now gives us another powerful tool to help patients maintain their independence at home rather than being forced into costly institutional care.
Patients qualifying for remote telemonitoring include those who have recently been hospitalized, have used the emergency room, are routinely scheduled for unplanned office visits, are not compliant with record keeping for their health indicators, experience frequent exacerbation of chronic conditions, and have multiple health issues that impact their care plan.
Remote telemonitoring is a classic "win-win" for all concerned – healthier, happier patients, better quality outcomes for providers, and lower costs for payors.
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