Providers Manage Chronic Condition Cases With This New Tool

COVID-19 has pretty much made every interaction dangerous & this has been tough on everyone especially patients with chronic conditions. According to a webinar hosted by Becker’s Hospital Review and sponsored by CareSignal they discussed this and the solution seems to be scaling up remote patient healthcare. Which I totally agree with.

Here’s the solution proposed by them (just the highlights, for the entire content it is available here):

During the 2002-04 SARS outbreak, patients with chronic conditions perceived their care as less necessary. This worsened outcomes and drove down utilization and revenue. Even when the outbreak had ended, “Average monthly service volume for the base year… and the following two years were 55 percent, 82 percent and 84 percent,” according to research published in 2008. Patients, particularly those with ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, and their providers, may not have the opportunity for “catch-up care” or “rebound revenue” after COVID-19. Telemedicine and digital engagement have the potential to bolster otherwise vanishing revenues and increase market share, Mr. Marggraff said.

CareSignal technology collects and stratifies patient-reported health data to identify patients who need care. A clinician provides a list of eligible patients to CareSignal specialists who call identified patients, gather consent, and enroll them in the program, Mr. Marggraff detailed. Patients send in clinically-relevant data in response to automated text and phone calls. CareSignal then categorizes at-risk patients and triggers alerts in real-time. Healthcare providers or care managers receive escalation notifications.

The condition-specific solution uses accessible texts and phone calls to promote long term engagement. Half of patients stay engaged with the technology for 12 months or longer. CareSignal’s technology is evidence-based and has been featured in 10 positive-outcome publications in peer-reviewed medical journals. Findings from the studies include 50 percent improvement in blood pressure control over 12 weeks; more than 100 percent increase in follow-up appointment adherence; and 62 percent decrease in congestive heart failure emergency visits.