ExpressMD Solutions, a provider of remote patient monitoring systems and services for patients with chronic illnesses, has developed an interface between its Electronic House Call (EHC) in-home remote patient monitoring solution and DeVilbiss Healthcare's IntelliPAP AutoAdjust Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device to treat obstructive sleep apnea.
The introduction of the interface allows the EHC solution to be used in the monitoring, management and optimisation of a patient’s adherence to their sleep therapy program. Specifically, the EHC interface is designed to enable care providers prescribing the CPAP device to remotely monitor and verify therapy compliance, which is required under new Medicare regulations for reimbursement of the services.
The Electronic House Call solution allows healthcare providers to manage more patients without increasing staff overhead costs and to improve personalized care plans and vital statistics monitoring, while reducing the requirement for home and office patient visits. Automated features can increase patient care plan compliance effortlessly while improving patient medical condition monitoring and providing online disease and illness education.
Using remote patient monitoring for chronic patient illness management can reduce the incidence of emergency hospitalizations and readmissions, minimise the severity of reoccurrences, improve condition outcomes for patients and reduce the overall cost of patient care.
Ronald Mills, managing director of ExpressMD Solutions, said: “The use of our EHC solution to remotely monitor and manage a patient’s sleep therapy program is an exciting new market opportunity for homecare providers and physicians. It is important to note that many of the chronic illnesses that the EHC solution can manage have co-morbidities with sleep apnea. There are approximately 18 million Americans with sleep apnea.
“Further, the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research estimates that 40 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders and another 20 to 30 million experience sleep problems intermittently. The commission estimated direct costs of sleeplessness at $15.9bn annually and another $100bn or more in indirect costs.”
Joe Howard, vice president of marketing at DeVilbiss Healthcare, said: “This new system will not only provide an efficient means to satisfy the new Medicare PAP LCD requirements for adherence, but could also facilitate improved patient outcomes.
“The Electronic House Call will allow providers to monitor the use of the IntelliPAP device and intervene rapidly in the event that the patient encounters any issues with their therapy. A critical component to establishing an adherent PAP patient is to provide education and support both of which are offered through this revolutionary solution.”