The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasingly looking to telemedicine as a way to improve care while reducing fiscal outlays. The federal organization recently announced it would add three medical practice groups to an eight-month old program that is trying to cut unnecessary hospitalizations through caring for the elderly and chronically ill at home.
The idea is to monitor chronically ill patients remotely and intervene as necessary, rather than readmit them to the hospital.
CMS recently admitted Virginia Commonwealth University Health System/Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and Physicians in Richmond, VA.; Innovative Primary Senior Care in Skokie, IL.; and Treasure Coast Healthcare in Stuart, FL. That increases the total number of medical organizations involved in the program to 19.
The pilot’s main goal is to test whether primary care services delivered in the home by a multidisciplinary teams can improve care and reduce costs for beneficiaries with chronic conditions and prevent the need for institutional care.
It’s done through monitors that track patients’ vital signs remotely, something that in the past could only be done as an inpatient. The monitors provide 24-hour tracking, as well as availability by providers who also use electronic health information systems, remote monitoring and mobile diagnostic technology.
Such a program might work especially well at rural skilled nursing facilities, according to a CMS spokesman.
Telemonitoring remotely tracks patients who are not at the same location as the healthcare provider. Generally, the patient has a number of monitoring devices at home.
Data can be transmitted via telephone (or another device) to the provider. Telemonitoring allows patients to avoid travel, but easily keep in touch. The provider can make decisions about the patient’s treatment in a way similar to an on-site appointment.
From the November 01, 2012 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
