Health Services Industry News

New Study Finds Provider-to-Provider Telehealth Could Save $4.3 Billion for Health Care

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:56:01 -0600

The Center for Information Technology Leadership, a nonprofit research center based at Partners HealthCare System in Boston on Nov 13 released a study finding that telehealth system rollout in emergency departments, correctional institutions, nursing homes, and physician offices nationwide, if done in the next five years, could save $4.28 billion per year for the healthcare system. The study examined three telehealth technology systems - store-and-forward, real-time video, and a hybrid model that combines the first two, and found that the hybrid model would generate the highest savings--$3.61 billion a year, thus recommending this model

The Patient-Centered Medical Home Model Gets Payer Endorsement

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:02:43 -0600

Seven of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, BCBS, UnitedHealth, WellPoint, and MVP Healthcare, endorsed their support in October to a national collaborative promoting the medical home model that was announced in May 2007 by a coalition of four major primary care physicians’ professional societies and national employers, quality advocacy groups, academic centers, and consumer advocacy groups. In addition to joining initiative, the health benefits companies have committed to working toward the development and implementation of a series of multi-payer medical home pilot demonstration projects

RHIO Market Growth Slows

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:05:38 -0500

Healthcare IT Transition Group published a report estimating that regional health information organizations (RHIO) generated $128.6 million in 2007, and exhibited a meager annual growth of 2.3% from 2006. The report is based on data from 38 RHIOs and revealed that grants accounted for 84% of revenues for start-up RHIOs in 2007. But the good news is that 60% of RHIOs identify themselves as self-sustaining businesses, even though only 25% say they are in production stage.

Data Shows E-prescribing Uptake Slower Than Expected

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 09:31:33 -0500

The Washington Times reported on September 6, 2007 that although e-prescribing infrastructure is available in 95% of all retail pharmacies nationwide, fewer than 30,000 of the more than 900,000 prescribers use e-prescribing systems. Physician's reluctance is cited as the probable cause of sluggish usage, and their main concern is the change of work flow the e-prescribing can cause. Independent pharmacies' lack of financial resources to spend on e-prescribing technology is another possible cause.

Intuit and CIGNA HealthCare Partner to Offer Online Health Tool

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 10:00:00 -0500

San Jose Business Journal reported on April 25 that Intuit and CIGNA HealthCare announced a partnership to offer an online health tool to the insurance company's more than nine million members to manage and direct their medical expenses, payments and service histories. The tool, called Quicken Health, will also enable them to download and organize their personal health data in a similar way like Intuitâs popular financial software does with financial data. The tool will become available in 2008 at no cost to CIGNA's members and is expected to increase member satisfaction.

Humana Launches SmartResults, Offers Guarantees

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 10:00:00 -0500

In a bold move, Humana announced a new program on April 19, 2007 that promises to help self-insured employers curb medical spending and help employees get healthier. Called SmartResults, the program adopts a unique integrated approach with a convergence of product, clinical programs, financial analysis and forecasting, and consumer education to achieve the desired results. To convince potential clients, Humana even guarantees results, or they will get a refund, up to 40% of the administration fees Humana receives. The program will be initially offered to self-funded U.S. employers with 300 or more employees. Humana revealed a study showing that from 2002 through 2006, customers enrolled in Humanaâs program experienced average annualized claims trends of 4.2 percent increase versus national average of 11 percent. SmartSuite members also exceeded prevailing prescription drug compliance rates for effective management of chronic illnesses and access preventive health care services on a par with national utilization standards.

Royal Philips Electronics to Acquire Health Watch

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Royal Philips Electronics and Health Watch Holdings, Inc. announced on April 10, 2007 that Philips would acquire Health Watch, a US-based, privately-held provider of personal emergency response services, for approximately $130 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2007. After the acquisition, the Health Watch will add over 100,000 US-customers to Philips Lifelineâs existing base of more than a half a million subscribers in North America.

ADT Teams up with XLHealth to Monitor Medication Compliance among Medicare Patients in Tennessee

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

ADT Security Services, a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, and XLHealth, a disease management company announced a partnership on March 5, 2007 to jointly offer medication adherence program using compliance devices from InforMedix. The service will be offer to a targeted group of participants in Tennessee's Medicare Health Support program. About 270 people with diabetes and hypertension will be offered ADT's WellHealth monitoring solution, which employs an easy-to-use in-home digital device that alerts XLHealth nurses about participants who have not taken their medication and those who are experiencing complications, prompting them to intervene.

Average Investment for Disease Management and Patient Adherence Programs Exceeds $700,000

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Cutting Edge Information released an report on March 1, 2007 that the average spend for developing and launching a disease management and patient adherence program from concept to implementation is $778,356. The analysis shows a great variance in spending levels. This is explained by a large range in individual programs -- some programs use numerous media channels such as phone, internet and direct mail, while other programs may utilize only one of these methods. Patient population can also be a determining factor of program spending. Larger patient populations require more personnel support, whereas a program catering to a small patient population can spend significantly less by maintaining fewer staff.

Massachusetts Trial To Track Blood Pressure Wirelessly

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

The Boston Globe reports on March 5, 2007 that Partners HealthCare in Massachusetts will start from April electronically monitoring the blood pressure of employees from EMC Corporation to test if increased monitoring and online feedback improve blood pressure levels. The clinical trial will include 200 employees who measure their blood pressure at least twice weekly through electronic cuffs that transmit the data through a wireless device attached to their phones to researchers at Partners. Another 200 employees will represent the control group and will receive only educational materials on controlling high blood pressure. A software program will analyze the electronic blood pressure readings and provide automated weekly feedback and advice to patients in the experimental group through a secure Web site. Researchers also will e-mail or call those employees whose readings become particularly high. The blood pressure initiative is part of a four-year, $6 million telemedicine investment from Partners in fields such as diabetes, emphysema and depression. The blood pressure study will be Partners' largest clinical trial of digital health care.

California Department of Health Services Selects McKesson to Run the States First Disease Management Program

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

McKesson Corporation won a contract on Feb 22, 2007 to offer a disease management pilot program for chronically ill, Fee-for Service (FFS) Medi-Cal beneficiaries residing in Los Angeles and Alameda Counties. The three-year pilot program will be run by McKesson Health Solutions. Californias legislatively mandated pilot is designed to test the effectiveness of providing DM services to Medi-Cal FFS beneficiaries with at least one of six common but costly chronic medical conditions, namely, asthma, diabetes, heart failure, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and atherosclerotic disease. The goal is to improve the health of the program participants by helping them better manage their conditions while reducing the costs associated with their care. Eligible patients will be identified by the Department of Health Services, and enrollment, estimated to total from 16,000 to 22,000, is expected to begin in June 2007.

CIGNA HealthCare Offers Worksite Health and Wellness Program

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

CIGNA HealthCare has launched a new worksite health and wellness program to give consumers a convenient way to get important health screenings and personalized coaching to help them meet their health goals. Partnering with employers, CIGNA offers employees cost-effective and time-saving access to confidential screenings for cholesterol, glucose levels, blood pressure, height/weight/waist circumference and body mass index (BMI). Immediately following the screenings, employees can meet one-on-one with a health coach. The screenings and coaching meetings are provided at the worksite and employers can schedule them for day or night, weekdays or weekends. CIGNA HealthCare is offering the program in collaboration with Health Solutions, a national health risk identification and health improvement firm, based in Owings Mills, Maryland. The program became available on January 1, 2007.

Aetna Partners with RelayHealth to Cover Physician-patient Consultations

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Aetna started from February 22, 2007 to cover online physician-patient consultations for members in the state of Washington through the RelayHealth network, McKessons secure online health care communication services. Aetna already covers its members in California and Florida through the RelayHealth network. The RelayHealth network enables secure, Web-based communication between doctors and their patients, including clinically based physician-patient consultations, appointment requests, referrals, lab and test results, and prescriptions and medication refills.

Employer Groups Bullish on Care Management

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

America's employers interest in care management services ranging from health risk assessments to end-of-life case management continues to grow, Managed Care Magazine reported in its March issue. The goal for employers is to train their workers to use health care resources in new, more efficient ways. Viewed as a continuum, the typical services offered under the care management model range from health risk assessments and health information Web sites on one end, the wellness end of the spectrum, to catastrophic case management and end-of-life management on the opposite end. In its 2006 survey of employer-sponsored health plans, Mercer Health & Benefits found that about two-thirds of employers with 500 or more workers rated care management services as important or very important cost-management strategies over the next five years. The movement brings a raft of new opportunities for health plans as their clients demand services far from claim processing and plan design.

Many employers Offer Incentives to Employees for Staying Fit

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Los Angeles Times reported on March 12, 2007 that as a means to fight healthcare cost, employers are becoming increasingly aggressive and innovative in keeping their workers healthy. Exasperated by ever-rising healthcare costs and frustrated that conventional health plans fail to promote good health, a growing number of U.S. employers and their insurers are enticing workers to stay healthy with prizes, discounted insurance and even cash. Examples of prizes include DVD players, Xbox 360 game consoles, iPods, luxury watches, barbecue grills and mountain bikes. At IBM Corp., employees get as much as $300 a year for exercising regularly, quitting smoking or logging on to the company's preventive-care website. Banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. deposits as much as $500 a year into medical savings accounts for workers with chronic conditions such as diabetes who follow recommended diet, exercise and drug regimens. Wells Fargo's health plan provider, UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the nation's largest, said it was rolling out similar incentives to more than 2 million of its members this year.

Cleveland Clinic to Monitor Chronically Ill Patients Remotely

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 10:00:00 -0500

AP/Boston Globe reported on March 09, 2007 that the Cleveland Clinic has built a system that physicians could use to remotely monitor chronically ill patients. The system initially would transmit patient blood pressure data via telephone lines to physicians and later will be able to send heart rhythms. The system also will gather other patient information and compile an online patient report card that physicians will use to treat the chronically ill. The Cleveland Clinic will collaborate on the project with VitalStream Health, a venture formed by the Cleveland Clinics spin-off: CCF Innovations.

Mayo Clinic Provides Health Info Via Mobile Phones

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

The Jacksonville Business Journal reported on February 22, 2007 that Mayo Clinic would begin offering health information via cell phones. At $2.99 per month, the Mayo Clinic InTouch wireless program provides access to first aid tips, a symptom checker with self-care guidelines and emergency care advice for more than 45 common symptoms. The service also offers more than 100 health news videos, health alerts and drug watches. Users can find nearby emergency and urgent care facilities by entering their area code or ZIP code into the program. Phones with global positioning system capabilities will automatically find the nearest facility. But the service does not allow users to immediately consult with physicians or nurses. The program is supported by several major carriers' cell phones and results from collaboration between Mayo and Digital Cyclone Inc., a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd.

Citrix Systems Survey Indicates Private Sector Ahead of States in EHR Adoption

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

A survey of 99 state health executives and 347 private-sector health IT executives conducted by Citrix Systems reveals that the private sector has adopted more electronic health record systems than public organizations and 70% of state executives said that private providers are leading RHIO development. Key findings include that 19% of state health executives reported using EHRs and 16% said their states had a schedule for EHR adoption at a broader level. But 52% of private-sector health IT executives confirmed that their organizations were using EHRs and another 5% said they were hosting EHR systems for other providers.

Whole Health Made Impressive Stride in 2006

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Whole Health Management (WHM), operator of on-site health clinics and wellness centers for large self-insured corporations, announced on Feb 12, 2007 brisk business activities during 2006. The company managed to grow revenues by nearly 20 percent, add two new clients and open 21 new facilities in 2006, making the year WHM's most successful in its more than 25 years of operations. In 2006, WHM opened new facilities or expanded service programs for clients including Qualcomm Harrah's Entertainment, Florida Power and Light, Ford Motor Company and Capital One. In addition, WHM launched their Health Risk and Disease Management (HRDM) program in January 2007, designed to proactively identify and manage health risks and to manage chronic disease conditions for patients.

Acadian TeleHealth Monitoring Service Launched

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Acadian Ambulance in Louisiana has launched a telehealth monitoring service to provide patients with chronic illnesses, such as congestive heart failure, high blood pressure or diabetes, with daily home check-ups to help prevent hospitalization or readmission. The monitoring device must be prescribed by a physician for a home health service to install it, and each system and monitoring services cost $119.

Alere(r) Medical Opens New Ohio Call Center to Accommodate Business Expansion

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

Alere Medical, Inc., announced on Feb 5 the opening of its newest call center in Columbus, Ohio to remotely monitor patients with heart failure. The opening reflects the rapid growth of patients enrolled in the companys programs on behalf of leading health plans.
The new call center will initially manage approximately 3,500 patients, with an anticipated enrollment of approximately 6,500 patients by April 30th, 2007. It officially opened on Monday, February 5th and employs 20 staff members from the Columbus area, comprised of management, nurses and support staff who will monitor patients with heart failure.

Study to Use Sensors, Games to Track Elderly Health

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on Jan 11, 2007, that researchers at the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology at Oregon Health and Science University would soon begin a study using motion sensors and video games to track the way the elderly are aging and to help extend their independence. The five-year, $7 million study will track the daily activities of about 250 volunteers in Portland-area retirement centers. The researchers will use wall, bed and chair motion sensors to track the frequency and speed of movement of volunteers. "Smart" canes and walkers will alert volunteers of mistakes and will provide data for researchers on the frequency of use, stability and balance. Pill boxes also will contain sensors that track medications and alert users of errors. Nine individually programmed computer games also will have embedded tools for researchers to gain a better understanding of the volunteers' cognitive health than traditional tests in medical clinics.

Health Cost Continue its Spiral-up Trend in 2005

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0500

USA Today reported on Jan 9, 2007, that government data showed that spending on health care rose at twice the rate of general inflation in 2005, with consumers facing increased deductibles and co-pays finding themselves spending more of their own money.
Total healthcare spending by individuals, insurers and the government went up 6.9%, hitting almost $2 trillion, or $6,697 per person. Hospital spending continued to be a main factor in spending growth, growing at nearly 8%, with increases in both in-hospital care and out-patient services. Employers continued to shift some of those costs to workers by adding deductibles, co-payments or eliminating coverage for specific treatments or certain drugs. Those moves helped push so-called out of pocket spending up, by 5.8%, an increase over the 5% reported in 2004.

Washington Pilot Program Helps Connect Patients, Physicians