Get Your Patients Engaged in Managing Their Chronic Diseases

by | Jan 25, 2017 | Blog

[Author:

STEPHEN KEELER  |  VP, Payer & Provider Sales]
 
 
$700 is a lot of money to put back in your patients’ pockets, but it’s easily done. That’s the average amount saved when patients take part in self-management programs where they learn how to tackle their chronic diseases head on.

What patients need is peer support and evidence-based skills that are proven to improve health outcomes, reports the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan.

“Everything is harder when you have a chronic condition,” stated Vicki Palmreuter, a community health specialist—and someone who personally manages three chronic diseases.

These types of education programs get your patients more involved in managing their own health, which leads to better outcomes. What’s the missing piece of the puzzle? Your practice.

Why NOW is the Time to Seriously Consider a Digital Health Platform
Is your practice actively managing your patients’ chronic conditions with a digital health platform? ­Not managing patients’ conditions on a remote basis—with access to live feeds of biometric data such as blood glucose levels or weight fluctuations—can lead to a jump in emergency room visits. And this hits you where it hurts—your balance sheet.

While fee-for-service arrangements once kept your practice afloat financially, CMS’ call to increase value-based care arrangements means your practice is now financially on the hook for the health of your patients. A digital health platform is really the only way to go.

Extending the reach of your care team into patients’ homes with a digital health solution means real-time notifications and avoidance of emergency room visits. Get an alert when your diabetic patient’s blood sugars spike, triggering a call from your nurse practitioner to counsel that patient over the phone. Spot a negative pattern in your cancer patient’s vitals as they’re wirelessly delivered to your practice; and triage the situation with a video call, thereby avoiding a costly emergency room visit. If you have a fixed amount of money from payers to keep patients healthy, the last thing you need is to cough up an average of $5,000 for each patient’s emergency room visit.

If you’re the missing piece of the puzzle, you get to make the decision. Are you choosing to set your patients and practice up for success?