Helping reduce hospital readmissions is a large reasons for bringing digital and mobile health technologies to market, especially ones that allow patients to take more control over their care while at home and after they leave the hospital the first time.
That’s where remote patient monitoring comes in, and numerous companies large and small are entering the race. It was announced that AT&T is teaming up with Intuitive Health to pilot a home-based remote monitoring solution that helps engage patients and family members in their own care, while seamlessly involving healthcare providers through integration with their clinical information systems. The end goal for the pilot is to help reduce hospital readmissions and associated healthcare costs, while increasing quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Intuitive Health will provide unobtrusive personal health devices including tablets, weight scales and pulse oximeters, as well as a cloud-based, device-agnostic, software platform that AT&T will provide the connectivity to. The combined solution will engage patients in their homes and enable the data gathered to be shared with caregivers in a highly secure manner.
It’s been estimated that chronic diseases such as asthma, congestive heart failure (CHF) and diabetes account for over 80 percent of hospital inpatient stays. CHF alone is the leading cause of hospital admissions for Americans over the age of 65. “Innovation is desperately needed outside the four walls of the hospital,” said Eric Rock, CEO and Founder of Intuitive Health. “In order to increase our nation’s quality of care and gain control of our healthcare spending, patients of all ages and technical ability must be given intuitive tools to improve their own health, while remaining engaged and monitored by their caregivers remotely.”