Telehealth Monitor

A literature review of 10 different telemonitoring systems for heart failure confirmed the value of such systems in reducing hospital costs. Direct savings to patients were modest but the perception of improved indirect costs supported a majority of patients in their willingness to pay for such a service.

Heart failure (HF) is associated with high direct and indirect costs to the patients and the healthcare system. This systematic review aims to analyze existing economic data to determine whether telemonitoring of patients with HF will result in decreased costs. The Scopus and PubMed databases were searched independently by two reviewers for journal articles that reported on an economic analysis (i.e., calculated monetary amounts or percentage change in costs) of a study using a HF telemonitoring system. Only articles describing telemonitoring systems with a component of home physiological measurements were included. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria, describing 10 different HF telemonitoring systems. Nine of the 10 studies analyzed the direct costs to the healthcare system. All the studies found cost reductions from telemonitoring compared to usual care, which ranged between 1.6% and 68.3%. Cost reductions were mainly attributed to reduced hospitalization expenditures. Only one study discussed the impact of HF telemonitoring on direct patient costs. The study found a 3.5% lower travel cost for patients using telemonitoring compared to those in the usual care group. The single study that was found for indirect costs described the willingness to pay for telemedicine by patients with HF (55% of the patients with HF were willing to pay $20 to access telemedicine, and 19% were willing to pay $40). Available data from existing studies suggest that although HF telemonitoring will require an initial financial investment, it will substantially reduce costs in the long term, particularly by reducing rehospitalization and travel costs.

via Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. – Telemedicine and e-Health – 14(7):679.

The United States could cut $197 billion from its health care bill over the next 25 years by widespread use of remote monitoring to track the vital signs of patients with chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure and diabetes, according to a new study released today by economist Robert Litan. Litan said that savings would be maximized by public policy adjustments that encourage health care institutions and individual caregivers to accelerate the use of remote monitoring.

“Remote monitoring can spot health problems sooner, reduce hospitalization, improve life quality and save money,” Litan said at a health care forum sponsored by Better Health Care Together (www.betterhealthcaretogether.org).

But he warned that adoption of remote monitoring and other telemedicine opportunities will be slowed and benefits reduced unless the United States does a better job of reimbursing health care organizations for remote care and encouraging continued investment in broadband infrastructure that can be tailored to meet the privacy, security, and reliability requirements for telemedicine applications.

Failure to make the right policy adjustments will cut estimated health care savings by almost $44 billion over the 25-year period, Litan estimated.

via Better Health Care Together – Latest News.