An Indiana-based ACO is using mHealth tools to connect providers and home health patients in a new program that keeps them out of the hospital, helps them live healthier lives, and qualifies the health network for extra Medicare incentives.
The 13-hospital Franciscan Alliance Accountable Care Organization, one of the first ACOs in the country to partner with Medicare, is reportedly seeing success on several fronts using Honeywell's Genesis DM and Genesis Touch RPM devices.
Franciscan VNS, in fact, is partnering with one of the ACO's physician groups in what is called 'The Coaching Program," according to a Honeywell HomMed whitepaper, to target patients with chronic illnesses, typically the most expensive population and one that doesn't traditionally qualify for home health services.
"The Coaching Program was designed to provide the right level of education to patients to empower them to take the management of their healthcare into their own hands and improve the overall health prognosis long-term," the whitepaper states.
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Physicians, home health aides and telehealth nurses involved in this program use the Honeywell devices to keep regular tabs on enrolled patients and track long-term health progress with Honeywell's LifeStream Management Suite of analytical software. In all, 70 percent of the program's patients are monitored daily, the whitepaper states, with results compared against general population patients and those using traditional telehealth monitoring tools upon their discharge from the hospital.
According to Franciscan officials, The Coaching Program has resulted in a 5 percent readmission rate (the national average for a Medicare population is 20 percent), medication reconciliation rates above 40 percent, and a patient retention rate of 95 percent. As a result, Franciscan officials report that they've qualified for a higher bonus from the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services.