Healthcare 2020: What's Next?
For nearly a decade, value-based care (VBC) has emerged with relentless pursuit to replace fee-for-service healthcare. Within the last few years, the nation experienced a surge in this evolution, as 48 U.S. states and territories now have VBC programs.
As we enter 2020, it’s clear that VBC is here to stay – and the changes that accompany it are inevitable. Providers must accept these transformations to ensure patient care remains at the forefront, as the transition to VBC will result in a new standard of care delivery. Here are three key areas we must focus on to improve population health and the lives of those with chronic conditions in 2020 and beyond:
1. Remote Patient Monitoring
Healthcare consumerization will continue to nudge providers to meet patients where they are – and technology is opening the door to do so. With expanded reimbursements from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), remote patient monitoring (RPM) has been one tool used to help patients manage their diseases. One example is Rimidi and Companion Medical’s recently announced partnership. The collaboration integrates Companion Medical’s connected device, InPen™ into Rimidi’s platform by pushing insulin dosing data from the InPen through the cloud. Working within the electronic health record (HER), Rimidi’s software enables personalized, virtual management of individuals with cardiometabolic conditions by combining connected devices with relevant clinical data.
The benefits? Clinicians have the ability to see all relevant patient data within their existing workflow and match near-real time glucose readings with dosing information to make more informed clinical decisions. This is just one way that healthcare systems can fully take advantage of RMP reimbursement codes, developing effective strategies for improving population health by moving toward continuous, virtualized care for populations with chronic conditions.
2. Increasing Payors Role in the Value-Based Care Transition
In healthcare today there are multiple patient touch points from payors, providers and employers, creating confusion. As such, payors are seeking a more active role in supporting providers as they transition to value-based care. Payors will continue to explore ways that technology can help them align with providers to improve population health outcomes, including social determinants of health (SDoH) elements, which require new and innovative ways of engaging and fully understanding patients.
3. Putting Focus Back on the Patient
Greater reliance on patient reported outcomes (PROs) and SDoH are putting some of the focus back on the patient. PROs include survey tools that capture the patient's experience in their own words, while SDoH are economic and social conditions that could impact an individual’s health. To truly help patients succeed and address the population health impacts of growing cardiometabolic conditions, healthcare providers must have have clearer insights into all aspects of a patient’s health. With PROs and clinical data in a provider’s EHR system, physicians will have a more complete view of each individual and can partner with them in taking the right actions at the right times.
The new year will bring trends that continue to push providers out of their comfort zones, calling for different approaches to care in order to meet patient needs. To stay abreast of the latest industry observations from the Rimidi team, visit our blog.
