Value-based care organizations operate under the premise of delivering high-quality care while minimizing unnecessary healthcare costs. As a result, many are implementing remote care strategies to help expand access to care, increase efficiency, improve patient outcomes, and reduce overall costs.
As the healthcare industry transitions from a fee-for-service model to value-based care, technologies such as remote patient monitoring (RPM), personal emergency response services (PERS), and artificial intelligence (AI) are playing a pivotal role in helping to achieve these goals. The following are five reasons why:
Proactive Monitoring and Early Intervention
By leveraging technologies such as PERS and data analytics, care teams can identify patterns and trends indicative of deteriorating health and deliver more proactive care that prevents costly hospital readmissions. This proactive approach aligns with the objectives of value-based care: keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital.
For example, a recent IRB-approved study of over 370 randomized individuals measured the impact of PERS with CareSage Analytics and tailored interventions. The study demonstrated a significant reduction in hospital readmissions, ED visits and overall hospitalization costs, including a 68% decrease in 90-day readmissions, a 53% decrease in 180-day readmissions, a 49% decrease in 180-day emergency medical services (EMS) encounters and a 31% decrease in hospitalization costs.
Enhance Patient Engagement and Adherence
With remote care technologies such as RPM and AI-virtual health assistance, value-based care organizations can foster a stronger sense of accountability and adherence to treatment plans. For instance, one study measured the impact of AI-enabled RPM and found that 94% of providers surveyed asserted the technology improved blood pressure control in hypertension patients, 75% of providers stated it improved hemoglobin a1c control in diabetic patients, and 69% of providers believed it reduced or greatly reduced the need for hospitalizations.
Maximize Efficiency, Improve Outcomes and Reduce Costs
With remote care technologies, healthcare providers can deliver more proactive care that helps avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and care costs. This not only improves patient outcomes but also maximizes efficiency and alleviates the burden on healthcare facilities and staff. With RPM, one nurse can monitor from 100 to 250 patients, ensuring prompt intervention when necessary. Furthermore, certain RPM programs offer full-service clinical monitoring support by RNs (registered nurses) to help free up staff and offset the burden on care teams, allowing them to focus more on patient-facing activities.
Expand Access to Care
Remote care transcends geographical barriers, enabling patients to access healthcare services regardless of their location. Through virtual consultations and remote monitoring, value-based care organizations can extend their reach outside traditional care settings, ensuring equitable access to quality care. This is particularly beneficial for patients living in rural or underserved areas, where access to healthcare is often limited, and barriers to care include a lack of access to broadband internet and difficulties coming in for regular checkups due to distance or transportation issues. These patients are often sicker than most and need more frequent visits and follow-up care to help manage their health.
One internal medicine practice in south Texas used RPM to help overcome these challenges for their patients with chronic conditions and achieved clinically meaningful results, including:
- An average reduction in random blood glucose of 4.6 mg/dl for patients with diabetes
- An average diastolic blood pressure reduction of 7.9 mmHg for patients with starting BP >140
- An average systolic blood pressure reduction of 17.1 mmHg for patients with starting BP >140
Data-Driven Insights for Population Health Management
By leveraging advanced analytics and predictive modeling, value-based care organizations can derive actionable insights such as a patient’s health status, behaviors and outcomes from to make more informed clinical decisions. This approach enables healthcare providers to identify areas for intervention, tailor care plans to individual patient needs, and refine care protocols to achieve better outcomes. For example, the CareSage Analytics Reporting Platform enables healthcare organizations to better understand:
- Activity and mobility information, including fall events and trends over time
- Transport and hospitalization occurrences that may point to underlying conditions
- Risk of transport and probability of hospitalization
- Top call reasons and which calls required emergency transport versus assistance on-site
Looking Ahead
As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, remote care will remain an indispensable tool for value-based care organizations committed to delivering high-quality care. By embracing technologies such as PERS, RPM, and AI, healthcare providers can engage their patients more effectively, intervene proactively, and expand access to care. This forward-thinking approach aligns with the overarching goals of value-based care: improving the patient experience, enhancing health outcomes and significantly reducing care costs.