Organizations are integrating previously disparate services to better align their offerings with the shift from fee-for-service to risk-based care through visionary, member-centric solutions. For example, monitoring with tech-enabled tools has increased the availability of services such as vitals monitoring and care management to allow for a more proactive approach. As these core services continue to be integrated into overarching care plans, they will ultimately improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and support independent living for an aging population.
Digital health’s role in driving outcomes
The healthcare industry is making progress in its transition from longstanding fee-for-service models to risk-based care. The shift prioritizes member-centric and outcome-driven solutions, delivering better long-term results while reducing costs. According to the World Economic Forum, 20% of healthcare costs are attributed to unnecessary interventions(Opens in a new window), and on a smaller scale, this cost directly impacts patients. Improvements in both cost and long-term outcomes emphasize the importance of shifting from episodic to preventive care tactics.
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Demographic changes are also driving this evolution. With over 55 million people(Opens in a new window) in the United States aged 65 or older, representing more than 16% of the population, the demand for supportive care services will only intensify. Almost three-quarters of Americans will require some form of assistance to accommodate their desire to age in place, rather than leveraging traditional clinical settings, but the system’s capacity is already stretched thin. Integrated digital tools have become pivotal to meeting these challenges by enabling whole-person care. The use of integrated digital health tools delivers a gateway to more comprehensive, patient-centered care.
Expanding access and reducing barriers to care
Underserved and rural populations are especially well-positioned to benefit from digital health’s accessibility offerings. Monitoring plays a large role in this effort, especially for older patients, offering tools that reduce the need for frequent in-person visits while sequentially improving health outcomes and maintaining chronic conditions. With these tools, providers can monitor patients in real-time, ensuring proactive intervention when health issues arise. The early detection capabilities that monitoring technology presents can lead to improved outcomes and reduced readmission rates, helping to address one of the healthcare system’s most persistent challenges as adoption continues to increase.
According to AMA Digital Health Research(Opens in a new window), the percentage of physicians using remote monitoring devices increased from 12% in 2016 to 30% in 2022, reflecting a growing recognition of their value. Remote monitoring will continue to enable older adults to live independently while maintaining essential health supervision from their providers. Because care teams can track vital metrics and respond to emerging issues promptly, they can reduce the risks associated with aging in place.
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Enabling comprehensive, whole-person treatment
Integrated care represents a pivotal advancement in digital health offerings, creating unified ecosystems that can help support comprehensive, whole-person care. True whole-person care addresses physical, mental, emotional, social, and sometimes even spiritual needs, often including services like primary care, behavioral health integration, social services coordination, access to community resources, and a collaborative care team to address each aspect of wellbeing. When leveraged correctly, monitoring technology enables seamless communication among providers, improves care coordination, and supports the creation of personalized care plans tailored to individual needs by centralizing patient data. It also helps reduce the cost of care by eliminating redundant services and emphasizing preventive strategies. Patients with chronic conditions can benefit from this centralized care model where their providers have access to the same health records, better ensuring a consistent and coordinated approach to treatment.
Primary care providers (PCPs) often serve as ‘gatekeepers’ within healthcare, and they play an important role in preventive care, screening, chronic condition management, and navigation to other providers. This has been a consistent target area of value-based care (VBC) efforts(Opens in a new window) across the industry. Digital tools better align with the goals of VBC, too, by reducing inefficiencies and prioritizing outcomes and cost-effectiveness. This model benefits patients and optimizes healthcare resources for PCPs and other providers, enabling them to deliver high-quality care across diverse populations.
Promoting preventive care for long-term impact
Preventive care also involves empowering patients to take control of their own health by promoting active engagement in their health journeys. Patients can better adhere to prescribed treatment plans, engage in wellness programs, and monitor their progress with digital health tools. This active participation helps foster better health outcomes and greater satisfaction with their overall care experience. For aging populations, the impact of preventive care is particularly significant since many older adults face barriers to accessing traditional care, such as transportation limitations or mobility challenges. Integrated technology helps them receive consistent care from the comfort of their homes by eliminating these common obstacles.
More effective and proactive care requires a framework that will enable the U.S. healthcare system to better meet the inevitable challenges of an aging population and pave the way for a sustainable and equitable future. Monitoring and other digital health enabled tools are helping to build that framework by offering a new medium for care delivery that can supplement primary care and care management services. By redefining the standards of care delivery with digital health, patients can receive the right care at the right time and resources can be optimized to achieve better outcomes.
Photo: chombosan, Getty Images
Jeff Bennett(Opens in a new window) was appointed Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer in October 2023 after joining Modivcare(Opens in a new window) in July 2023 through the acquisition of Higi. He has approximately 30 years of experience and is passionate about preventative healthcare.
Prior to joining Modivcare, Jeff was CEO of Higi, a consumer health engagement company that meets people where they are. Previously, he was Managing Director of Merrick Ventures where he played a strategic advisor role for portfolio companies, including the turnaround of Merge Healthcare prior to its $1 billion acquisition by IBM. Jeff also served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investments at Ygomi and held executive positions at BridgePort Networks and PrairieComm.
Jeff received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg Business School at Northwestern.
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