The two healthcare companies will provide remote monitoring for Medicare Advantage members at high risk of hospital readmission and congestive heart failure patients.
Humana Inc. will offer remote monitoring programs for seniors through its Medicare Advantage plans, thanks to a recent partnership with Royal Philips. The programs will serve members at risk of hospital readmission as well as patients with congestive heart failure.
The goal is to allow patients to live independently at home, while preventing costly hospital readmissions.
“Our goal is to continue to find ways to help our Medicare Advantage members stay longer and safer in their homes,” Susan Diamond, president of Humana’s home business segment, said in a news release. “We believe our work with Philips will help offer our members and their caregivers more in-home support and help them to stay engaged and focused on prevention.”
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Humana is currently in the process of launching both programs. They’re both part of Philips’ population health management portfolio.
“We’re both committed to really understanding that it’s going to take new strategies and approaches to connect with our patients and keep them healthy outside of the hospital setting,” said Cindy Gaines, clinical leader of population health management for Philips. “It’s a natural partnership that evolved. Humana is really wanting to partner with us to leverage technology to support their patients that they work with. They want to have line of sight into their members’ wellbeing so they can deliver care and help them manage living well.”
At-risk seniors will have access to Philips’ Lifeline medical alert service, which includes fall detection technology, and predictive analytics, which provides insight into a patient’s wellbeing after they are discharged from the hospital. They will also have 24/7 access to trained care specialists who can connect them to help from a family member, neighbor, or emergency services.
While Philips’ Lifeline service has been a mainstay in senior care for the last 40 years, the company began offering its CareSage predictive analytics in 2015. The program predicts patients that are at high risk for emergency transport so providers can intervene early.
Humana will also run a pilot with Philips’ remote member monitoring solution for congestive heart failure patients, allowing their care teams to monitor changes in their condition. Humana will identify a pilot group of members with severe congestive heart failure, and Philips will provide them with a kit including a tablet that syncs information from a weight scale, blood pressure monitor and pulse oximeter.
“You can have a nurse call you and say, ‘I see a change in your blood pressure. Let’s talk,’” Gaines said. “Think about how powerful that is.”
Humana will roll out the programs in select Medicare Advantage programs across the U.S.
Source: MedCity News
