Life Sciences Role in Delivering Value-based Care

Demonstrate Value

"Demonstrate value" is a familiar request for anyone working in the life sciences industry. Historically new treatments have been evaluated in terms of how safe and efficacious they are compared to the standard of care. With the many changes in the healthcare industry, and expedited through healthcare reform efforts, there is a focus on enhancing patient outcomes and decreasing healthcare costs. The industry is struggling to provide adequate solutions.

A recent study by the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman surveyed 200 physicians in value-based delivery models such as accountable care organizations (ACOs). The goal of the study is to understand physician attitudes toward the role life sciences companies have in helping value-based healthcare providers deliver better care at a lower cost. The results found that…

• 61% of respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed that there is a role for branded drug therapies in reducing the overall cost of patient care when used appropriately
• Only 37% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “Pharmaceutical companies have the capabilities to reduce the total cost of care and improve patient outcomes.”

Life sciences companies are struggling to understand their role and how to enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Telehealth solutions are customized based on the patient’s health condition to gather patient vital signs and health symptom interview data. This information can be used to demonstrate the value a treatment has on patient outcomes and in reducing healthcare costs. We recently published a white paper on telehealth solutions, and the benefits life science companies can expect from telehealth solutions.

Download the white paper

As a part of the Oliver Wyman study senior executives from ACOs were interviewed. There was a quote from a former CEO of a Medicare Advantage ACO and he said, “Drugs can cost more, but they have to prove real value to the patient in order for payers to agree to pay more.”

Now is the time to act—bold thinking and brave leadership is needed. The need to demonstrate value is not going to fade away, rather it will intensify. Additionally, there are many tools and solutions available to provide payers and healthcare providers with evidence that a treatment positively impacts patient outcomes and decreases healthcare costs.

White Paper Available! Telehealth Solutions Enhance Health Outcomes and Reduce Healthcare Costs

White paper: Can we enhance health outcomes with telehealth?

There is intense pressure for the life sciences industry to demonstrate that treatments enhance health outcomes and decrease healthcare costs. Life science companies need tools to track patient outcomes, and gather data that demonstrates the impact a treatment has on health outcomes.

Telehealth solutions can be customized to gather patient vital signs and interview data based on the patient’s health condition. This information can be used in many ways to enhance health outcomes and reduce costs.

This white paper provides an overview of what telehealth is, factors driving the healthcare industry to focus on increasing outcomes and reducing costs, how telehealth solutions can enhance health outcomes and reduce costs, benefits life science companies can expect from telehealth solutions, as well as share results from two key studies of telehealth solutions.

If you’d like a copy of the white paper titled “Telehealth Solutions Enhance Health Outcomes and Reduce Healthcare Costs”, please click to request it. I’d love to hear what you think of this latest white paper—is it helpful or not? Also, please share with me areas you’d like to see more information and recommendations on.

Tunstall Announces Telelehealthcare Leaders Forum

Tunstall Americas announces the inaugural Telehealthcare Leaders Forum, an educational and informational event for healthcare organizations, payers, pharmaceutical companies and key leaders throughout the healthcare industry.

Full Story & Agenda

The Telehealthcare Leaders Forum is scheduled for April 16^th to 18^th in Newport, Rhode Island, and includes healthcare industry stakeholders and experts, and government officials. For more information on the event, e-mail TLF@TunstallAMAC.com, call 1-877-354-6111, or visit www.tunstallamac.com/TLF.

Wanted: Technologies that Empower Patients

Dr. Cafazzo talks about empowering patients

Inspiring TEDxToronto talk provides examples of technologies that engage patients and help them live well.

I ran across an inspiring presentation by Dr. Joseph Cafazzo on the intersection of patients, healthcare providers, hospitals, and technology to empower patients to live better lives. This presentation was part of the recent TEDxToronto meeting. Dr. Cafazzo is the Lead for the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, a state-of-the-art research facility devoted to the evaluation and design of healthcare technology in Toronto, Canada.

In the presentation Dr. Cafazzo shares that 75% of healthcare spending is spent treating seven conditions including…

* Diabetes
* Kidney disease
* High blood pressure
* Heart failure
* Lung disease
* Mental health
* Cancer

In most cases these are chronic conditions that need to be managed over a period of time. With appropriate care and adherence to medication, healthcare spending on these conditions can be decreased and patients can live well. For this to take place healthcare providers and hospitals need patients that are engaged and empowered to manage their health.

Dr. Cafazzo is a leading researcher on the use of technology to facilitate patient self-care of complex chronic conditions. In the video he shares several technologies that have made a significant impact to empower patients to manage their condition(s).

We live in exciting times where technology is stimulating monumental progress. Many new technologies are available to help patients be engaged and empowered to manage their health. Effective solutions are needed, and patients need options so they can select the tools that meet their needs and preferences from mobile health sites, app-based health management tools, telehealth devices, educational websites, to nurse educator programs that provide 24/7 assistance to answer patient questions.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on the use of technology to engage patients and empower them to manage their health. Have you, or your company, used these technologies? If so, please share your insights and experiences.

Look to the Future: Physicians Recommend Mobile Apps

Apps for Health Management

Early-adopting physicians recommend mobile apps to enhance patient compliance and outcomes

There is evidence that adults in the US are using cell phones and smartphones to manage their health, and use is growing at a moderate pace. A recent blog post shared results from the Mobile Health 2012 survey, which was published by The Pew Internet and American Life Project. The findings from this survey offer significant insights into how US consumers use their cell phones and smartphones to access health information and health apps. Two key findings that jumped out to me are…

* 31% of cell phone users use their phone to search for health information (in 2010 it was only 17%)

* 19% of smartphone owners have at least one health app on their phone. Exercise, diet, and weight apps are the most popular

As the healthcare industry shifts to outcomes-based payment models, healthcare providers and payers will look for effective and economical ways to help patients better manage their health. Increasing patient adherence to treatment is a primary area that healthcare providers and payers are interested in impacting.

Recently, a post titled “When the Rx is an App” was published on the American Medical News blog (which is published by the American Medical Association). This post focuses on forward-thinking physicians recommending apps to help patients manage their condition, track medication adherence, and monitor their symptoms and vital signs. There are no definitive numbers on how many physicians recommend apps to their patients, but no doubt there is opportunity for apps as a part of a comprehensive patient adherence program. App-based health management tools are convenient and the learning curve for many patients is minimal. Patients carry their smartphones with them and are in the habit of using their smartphones to access e-mail, apps, and search for information.

As the life science industry continues to focus on patient outcomes, with an emphasis on adherence and compliance, there are opportunities for life science companies to provide significant value to patients, healthcare providers, and payers. App-based health management tools are just one component of a potential solution. Effective solutions will include various components so patients can select the tools they are most comfortable with including mobile health sites, telehealth devices, educational websites, and nurse educator programs that provide 24/7 assistance to answer patient questions.

Currently, there are apps that collect patient information such as heart rate, weight, calories burned, calories consumed, etc. that can be shared with healthcare providers during office visits. In the future, technologies such as telehealth devices and apps will summarize collected patient information, send it to healthcare providers, and upload the information directly into electronic health records. With these advances healthcare providers receive accurate patient-specific information that can be used to guide treatment discussions and decisions.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on the use of apps to manage an individual’s health. Do you use healthcare-related apps? Is your company providing these services now? Is your company likely to provide them in the future? Please share your questions and comments, and let’s all learn from each other.

Smartphones: Fertile Ground for Health Information

Interesting stats on smartphone usage - more below

Pew Internet and American Life Project finds half of smartphone owners use their devices to get health information.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published results from the Mobile Health 2012 survey. The findings from this survey offer significant insights into how US consumers use their smartphones to access health information and health apps. These findings are evidence that life science companies have significant opportunities to provide value-added services and products that help patients improve their health.

Key findings from the Mobile Health 2012 survey include…

* 85% of US adults own a cell phone
  - 53% are smartphones

* 31% of cell phone users use their phone to search for health information
  - In 2010 only 17% of cell phone users used their phones to search for health information
  - 52% of smartphone owners access health information via their smartphone

* 19% of smartphone owners have at least one health app on their phone
  - Exercise, diet, and weight apps are the most popular

* 9% of cell phone owners receive text updates and alerts about their health or medical issues
  - 80% of cell phone owners send and receive text messages

*  Those most likely to have signed up for health text alerts...
  - Women between the ages of 30 and 64
  - Smartphone owners

* Those most likely to use cell phones to search for health information…
  - Caregivers
  - Those who recently faced a medical crisis
  - Those who recently experienced a significant change in their physical health

Clearly adults in the US are more often using their cell phones and smartphones to manage their health, and use is growing at a moderate pace. As the life science industry continues to focus on patient outcomes, with an emphasis on adherence and compliance, there are opportunities for life science companies to provide mobile healthcare apps and services that provide significant value to patients, healthcare providers, and payers.

Key areas to consider when planning mobile health initiatives …

Mobile health sites and apps can have a significant impact; however, these are just two components of a potential solution. There are new technologies, such as telehealth devices that are powerful tools or capturing and sharing information between patients and healthcare providers. Additionally, don’t overlook the importance of educational websites and nurse educator programs that provide 24/7 assistance to answer patient questions.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on mobile health information. Is this something you’re doing or considering as a value-added service? Please share your questions and comments, and let’s all learn from each other.

Look to the Future: Sharing Physician Visit Notes with Patients Improves Engagement and Adherence

More transparency and sharing of information is the way of the future in healthcare. A simple option is to allow patient’s access to their visit notes that physicians keep as a part of their medical record. Patients have a right to see their entire medical record including physician’s notes; however, this doesn’t regularly happen.

Very little is known about the impact on physicians and patients when they are allowed to read physician’s notes from their visits. There are a number of questions including…

1)  Would patients be confused or offended by the information included in physician’s notes?

2)  Would physicians feel they need to spend more time in writing their notes and would they experience increases in the number of questions they receive from patients?

To answer these questions a year-long study was launched to provide patients with electronic access to the physician’s notes from their visits. The study results were recently published on-line in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Below are the key takeaways from this important study…

* 105 physicians and 13,564 patients participated from three sites in the US

* 11,797 patients (87%) opened at least one physician visit note

*  Of the 11,797 patients that opened at least one note, 5,391 (47%) completed a post-intervention survey

* Of the patients completing post-intervention surveys…
   - 77% to 87% of patients across the three sites reported that open notes helped them feel more in control of their care
   - 60% to 78% of those taking medications reported increased medication adherence
   - 1% to 8% reported that the notes caused confusion, worry, or offense
   - 20% to 42% of patients reported sharing notes with others

* The physicians reported...
   - The volume of electronic messages from patients did not change
   - 0% to 5% from the three study sites had longer patient visits
   - 0% to 8% from the three sites increased time spent addressing patients’ questions outside of visits
   - 3% to 36% changed documentation content
   - 0% to 21% took more time to write visit notes

This study is important because it demonstrates that increased information sharing between physicians and patients increases patient engagement. The impact of this study is…

* A significant number of patients (ie, 60% to 78%) reported increased adherence to medications. Historically, only 43% of patients that start a prescription therapy are continuing that therapy 6 months later.

* The majority of patients (77% to 87%) felt that open notes helped them to feel more in control of their care. This is incredibly meaningful and a key component to empowering patients to take control of their health.

* Overall physicians saw no more than a modest effect on their work lives by sharing their visit notes with patients. This data should help physicians overcome concerns they have in adopting this practice.

 Changes in the healthcare industry are driving the emphasis on decreasing healthcare costs and enhancing patient outcomes. Patient engagement and adherence are critical to achieving these goals, and this study supports open sharing of physician visit notes can have an impact with little additional time investment from physicians.

In the future, the industry must support initiatives that empower patients to take responsibility for managing their health. This is a very personal issue, and what motivates one individual may not work to motivate another. Innovative ideas are needed. Ultimately, many approaches will be combined to form a customized solution that is effective for an individual patient.

At Tunstall AMAC we are focused on helping build and maintain relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to drive awareness and knowledge, support patient adherence, and empower patients to take charge of their health. We offer a wide-variety of personal emergency response and telehealth devices that can be used in the home-setting, and we provide 24/7 monitoring and click-to-chat support services to provide support, information, and educational materials to patients, providers, and payers. Our services combined with open sharing of physician’s notes can increase patient empowerment.

We recently published a white paper on how to develop successful patient and caregiver support programs, as well as emerging trends being used to deliver customized and personalized experiences for patients. If you’d like a copy of the white paper titled “Increase Patient Adherence and Do More with Less”, please click to request it.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on the open notes study. Do you think this practice is likely to be widely adopted by physicians? What other innovative solutions do you see for empowering patients to take responsibility for managing their health?

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