If implemented correctly, a telehealth program can boost cost savings and improve patient care.
Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia, made that discovery after it used Philips’ technology to create eICU programs at five of its hospitals.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Emory’s story began in 2010 and 2011, when team members saw tele-ICUs based on platforms from Philips and another vendor. The Emory teams appreciated Philips’ population-level tools as well as how Philips’ platform encouraged teamwork within the eICU center. “Philips was — and remains — the industry standard,” Dr. Timothy Buchman, director of the Emory Critical Care Center, said in an email to MedCity. “Philips eICU emerged as our first, best choice.”
By the spring of 2014, three hospitals — Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown and Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital — began implementing Philips’ technology platform. Later that year, the program was brought to East Georgia Regional Medical Center and Emory Johns Creek Hospital, both of which are community hospitals.
The program got its start with the help of a $10.7 million Health Care Innovation Award Emory won from CMS in 2012.
On behalf of CMS, Abt Associates conducted a 15-month evaluation of Emory’s eICU program and compared the results to other hospitals in the area. From April 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015, the Emory eICU provided care for 8,019 patients, more than 60 percent of whom were federal beneficiaries.
Abt Associates found that Emory’s program caused a $1,486 reduction in the average Medicare spending per 60-day episode. This adds up to an estimated $4.6 million in cost savings over the 15-month time period.
Cheryl Hiddleson, director of the Emory eICU Center, told MedCity via email that the savings results hint at this program being a step in the right direction. “These savings apply to Medicare/Medicaid patients only, which are about 63 percent of the patients we monitor,” she said. “We think the savings can be expanded to all patients monitored by our program for a much greater overall saving in spending for patients monitored by eICU.”
Additionally, Abt Associates found Emory experienced a 2.14 percentage point reduction in the relative rate of 60-day inpatient readmissions. Emory also saw an increase in the number of patients discharged to home healthcare and a decrease in the number of patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities.
Other benefits from the program include improved communication among care teams, better training and an increase in the number of patients each physician could see.
Buchman said these results imply that it’s more than a telehealth platform that’s making a difference. “Telehealth’s future depends not only on providers learning telehealth skills, but also on organizations of providers deciding how to re-engineer the delivery of care based on time, distance and professional competencies,” he said.
Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill, Getty Images
