Using an evidence-based model of healthcare delivery, the authors of a recent white paper argue that the typical American post-acute facility could experience double-digit increases in revenue and net profit growth by implementing contact-free continuous monitoring (CFCM) in just a portion of its beds.

Using the EarlySense system of continuous monitoring as a baseline, the authors of the white paper construct an evidence-based model to demonstrate the improved outcomes contact-free continuous monitoring can offer post-acute centers and skilled nursing facilities, including:

• Improving quality of care to “better compete in a crowded market”
• Expanding the range of treatable patient acuities, “bringing opportunities for higher payments”

The authors go on to present their findings in line-by-line detail, including specifics such as:

• The capability to improve profit margin by 15% thanks to greater labor efficiency
• The potential to increase net revenue by 22% with the acceptance of higher-acuity patients

READ: Predicting Your ROI from Continuous Monitoring

Calculating the Benefits of Contact-Free Continuous Monitoring Using an Evidence-Based Model of Care

To anticipate the financial and clinical outcomes from implementing contact-free continuous monitoring within a “typical” post-acute facility, the white paper authors constructed a detailed hypothetical model, based on a 106-bed facility and assuming a deployment to 21 medically complex patient beds.

Estimated to bill at a 63% higher rate and stay 75% longer than those with lower acuity conditions, medically complex patients are integral to the authors’ evidence-based model. They argue that the hypothetical facility outlined in their model “could expect to see revenue increase by 22% and its net profit margin grow by 12.8%” by leveraging CFCM to treat high-acuity patients.

Basing their model on up-do-date industry statistics, the authors draw from sources and published studies that specifically demonstrate outcomes in post-acute care settings, including:

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)
• Articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

The authors then validated that information by interviewing clinicians and administrators with specific experience deploying EarlySense contact-free continuous monitoring — a method that also serves to assuage any potential doubts about the hypothetical nature of their evidence-based model.

From Evidence-Based to Evidence: Real Outcomes from EarlySense Continuous Monitoring Technology

Contact-free continuous monitoring “allows us to bring in higher-paying patients and gives us marketing advantages to referring physicians, especially related to reducing 30-day readmission CMS penalties,” as Hebrew Home Medical Director Dr. Zachary Palace told them.

In 2010, Hebrew Home became the first post-acute facility in the U.S. to adopt contact-free continuous monitoring, a carefully considered decision that Dr. Palace sees as an increasingly essential ingredient to success in today’s hyper-competitive post-acute market. Like it or not, facilities must deal with a higher level of acuity today than in the past, he notes — a trend that’s likely to continue.

“Post-acute facilities have to show hospitals they will not bounce back patients, while at the same time presenting to patients and families a full level of service in a competitive environment,” Dr. Palace told the white paper authors. “Facilities must also carefully manage costs in a tight reimbursement environment. Many facilities have very thin margins and cash flow challenges.”

For Marsha Moor, former Coordinator of Teletechnologies at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, contact-free continuous monitoring was a tool to address specific operational challenges: “Our leading reason for readmissions was low blood sugar, and next falls and UTIs,” she told the authors. But after deploying CFCM in its 28-bed complex acuity unit in 2016, “we saw a 31% reduction in readmissions.”

Evidence is building about the power of contact-free continuous monitoring to effect operational and clinical improvements in post-acute and skilled nursing facilities. You can learn more by downloading the white paper here — or contact us here to schedule a complimentary consultation with an EarlySense expert.