• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

10 Ways Remote Patient Monitoring Saves Money

by Our Thought Leaders 04/06/2015 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Home Care Management Startup eCaring Raises $3.5M in Series A Funding

Founder and CEO, Robert Herzog of eCaring describes how patients and home aides using remote patient monitoring can save up to $4000 per year in reduced ER visits and readmissions.

Robert Herzog CEO of eCaring
Robert Herzog CEO of eCaring

While much has been made of the myriad devices and wearables, including the much anticipated Apple iWatch in April, coming to market in 2015, to have a real impact on the cost of health care in the US will require getting access to the Internet, and practical tools to utilize it, for many of the 9 million American seniors qualifying for both Medicare and Medicaid assistance. Making it possible will be forward-thinking payors, plans and providers that see the benefit of investing in technology in the one place where the patient will spend most of their time – the home.

Focusing on the home and key demographics, such as 8,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, are essential if we are to drive down the costs of healthcare associated with ER visits, hospitalizations and readmissions. How? Using technology to record data in the home makes sense because it is the one place where the patient will spend the most significant part of their lives and where so many significant, potentially costly events as part of long-term care occur.

Remote patient monitoring technology that can be quickly accessed by patients, caregivers, and home health aides alike, to record critical information such as a patient’s vital signs, physical and mental state, eating patterns, and medication adherence. That data can be quickly uploaded and shared with all members of the care team, including care managers, physicians and family members. With the right system, hundreds of important data points per patients per month can be recorded. Algorithms can quickly filter that information into alerts and notifications, based on pre-set parameters so that timely interventions are possible.

Recent case studies have shown that remote monitoring can lead to a return on investment of 400% or more. Here’s how:

1. Focusing on the 9 million Americans who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid support can lead to significant savings for plans, payors, and providers.

Patients who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, known as “dual eligibles,” often live on low incomes, have several co-morbidities, and need the help of home aides. The “dual eligible” population may only be 5% of an insurance company’s patient base but studies have shown that they may account for up to 65 to 70 percent of the healthcare costs, and collectively around $300 billion in healthcare costs. Measured on an individual or managed plan level, the savings generated by remote patient monitoring in the home have proven to be significant.

2. Early intervention is essential to a patient’s recovery.

Remote patient monitoring, focusing on clinical vital signs with pre-set triggers, can ensure that small problems don’t become big ones by facilitating quick intervention.

For example an 82-year old dual eligible woman with diabetes with a blood sugar crashing at 70 would usually end up in the emergency department (ED). Average costs for an ED average hospital visit are $2,500 per visit. Statistics show that one in six ED visits lead to hospitalization, which can costs $9,000 to $25,000 per episode. In this case, the home aide quickly input the clinical data which generated an alert that was transmitted and evaluated by a care manager, who called into the home and suggested that the patient drink some orange juice. Within 30 minutes, the patient’s sugar level rose to 110 and an ED visit was averted.

Using remote monitoring technology to reduce ED visits and readmissions can save over $4,000 per patient per year elderly, chronically ill populations. When an alert is established, it begins a thread from the initial information to the intervention that can be codified to note the outcome enabling all members of the patient’s care team to review the issues and enhance future care for the patient.

3. More holistic approach are now possible with remote monitoring technology. 

The Affordable Care Act accelerated a process towards a more holistic managed care approach that connects the traditional silos of health care, including the doctor’s office, hospital and other institutions, that has dominated healthcare delivery. Remote monitoring technology now enables the care management team to have a clearer understanding of the whole patient and to provide better services, all with the goal of reducing costs of service. An estimated $25 to $45 billion in healthcare costs due to lack of care coordination could be saved by taking a more holistic approach. Roughly 11% of the estimated 36 million hospitalization visits per year could be avoided.

4. Shifting from pro-rata services to capitated rates is made easier by remote monitoring.

If providers cannot manage costs within fixed ceilings, then the ceilings will crash down on them. 

Continue reading…

Pages: Page 1 Page 2
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Insights

2025 EMR Software Pricing Guide

2025 EMR Software Pricing Guide

Featured Interview

Kinetik CEO Sufian Chowdhury on Fighting NEMT Fraud & Waste

Most-Read

2019 MedTech Breakthrough Award Category Winners Announced

MedTech Breakthrough Announces 2025 MedTech Breakthrough Award Winners

WeightWatchers Files for Bankruptcy to Eliminate $1.15B in Debt

WeightWatchers Files for Bankruptcy to Eliminate $1.15B in Debt

KLAS: Epic Dominates 2024 EHR Market Share Amid Focus on Vendor Partnership; Oracle Health Sees Losses Despite Tech Advances

KLAS: Epic Dominates 2024 EHR Market Share Amid Focus on Vendor Partnership; Oracle Health Sees Losses Despite Tech Advances

'Cranky Index' Reveals EHR Alert Frustration Peaks Midweek, Highest Among Admin Staff

‘Cranky Index’ Reveals EHR Alert Frustration Peaks Midweek, Highest Among Admin Staff

Madison Dearborn Partners to Acquire Significant Stake in NextGen Healthcare

Madison Dearborn Partners to Acquire Significant Stake in NextGen Healthcare

Wandercraft Begins Clinical Trials for Physical AI-Powered Personal Exoskeleton

Wandercraft Begins Clinical Trials for Physical AI-Powered Personal Exoskeleton

Chipiron Secures $17M to Transform MRI Access with Portable Scanner

Chipiron Secures $17M to Transform MRI Access with Portable Scanner

Abbott to Integrate FreeStyle Libre Glucose Data with Epic EHR

Abbott to Integrate FreeStyle Libre Glucose Data with Epic EHR

5 Ways New Trump Administration Tariffs Are Impacting U.S. Healthcare Now

5 Ways Trump Administration Tariffs Are Impacting U.S. Healthcare Now

iCAD, GE HealthCare Integrate to Advance Breast Cancer Detection with AI

RadNet to Acquire iCAD for $103M in All-Stock Transaction

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |