Geneia reaps savings in remote monitoring

Study of elderly heart patients saves annual $8,375 per individual

A year-long remote monitoring program for elderly patients with heart failure resulted in annual savings of $8,375 per patient, according to a study conducted by Geneia and Pennsylvania-based Capital Blue Cross.

The study, called @Home, compared Blue Cross members equipped with a home monitoring platform to a control group of non-monitored patients. The resulting reductions in costs and hospitalizations, Geneia said, would save a typical million-member health plan more than $1 million a year.

Geneia, which is based in Harrisburg, Pa., and has offices in Manchester, NH, said the remote patient monitoring platform reduced the disease’s progression, with participants seeing a 2 percent progression compared to more than 30 percent in the control group. In addition, participants saw a new 45 percent reduction in acute hospital admissions, and a net 34 percent reduction in admissions directly attributed to HF.

The result was that program participants reduced their health care expenses by an average of $8,375 apiece over the course of a year. 

The results, said Dr. Jennifer Chambers, Geneia’s chief medical officer, are “promising” 

Geneia officials said the program targeted elderly patients with chronic conditions who’d prefer to spend their time at home rather than a hospital or group home.

According to Chambers, “not only is chronic disease expensive, difficult to manage and a drain on our healthcare system, but it also takes a toll on patients and families, decreasing their quality of life and often leading to an accelerated transition out of the home and into facility-based care.”

She said “more of our seniors struggling with chronic disease will benefit from this technology and, together with their provider and the case management team … learn to better understand and manage their chronic conditions and continue to live full and independent lives in their own homes.”