Health Buddy
I. Executive Summary
Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) is experiencing difficulty in quantifying the benefits of their telemonitoring services used to provide care to patients recently discharged from hospitals. While the company believes these services provide real value to the patients, hospitals and insurance companies, VNHS is worried about the ability to provide future investment in the technology given the tenuous healthcare reimbursement environment. To continue to grow its telemonitoring services, VHNS should: • Assess patient specific effectiveness of telemonitors • Quantify the advantage of telemonitoring to insurance companies
• Reduce the technology’s accessibility limitations
• Find alternatives to the telemonitoring service
• Create and implement a marketing strategy
In order to accomplish these goals, we recommend the following:
Develop an electronic means of assessing telemonitoring usage and compliance with final clinician approval for removal of telemonitor. • This will increase the effectiveness of telemonitors by eliminating patients who do not use telemonitors effectively. • Automated analysis will be quick and simple.
Lobby with FDA and government agencies to pass new act/regulation which forces insurance companies to reimburse for telemonitoring devices • Benefits the entire health care industry and reduces cost at multiple levels. (Insurance companies, patients and hospitals)
Create secure website and computer application to compliment Health Buddy. • Gives patients a variety of choices to transmit data • Inexpensive and effective, with no need to upgrade Health Buddy
Integrate Health Buddy with alternative technologies • Having options to do telemonitoring via internet, mobile application and voice based automated telephone systems will allow VNHS to keep the cost low.
Create a marketing strategy that targets hospitals and insurance companies that do not have a preferred partner status
Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) is experiencing difficulty in quantifying the benefits of their telemonitoring services used to provide care to patients recently discharged from hospitals. While the company believes these services provide real value to the patients, hospitals and insurance companies, VNHS is worried about the ability to provide future investment in the technology given the tenuous healthcare reimbursement environment. To continue to grow its telemonitoring services, VHNS should: • Assess patient specific effectiveness of telemonitors • Quantify the advantage of telemonitoring to insurance companies
• Reduce the technology’s accessibility limitations
• Find alternatives to the telemonitoring service
• Create and implement a marketing strategy
In order to accomplish these goals, we recommend the following:
Develop an electronic means of assessing telemonitoring usage and compliance with final clinician approval for removal of telemonitor. • This will increase the effectiveness of telemonitors by eliminating patients who do not use telemonitors effectively. • Automated analysis will be quick and simple.
Lobby with FDA and government agencies to pass new act/regulation which forces insurance companies to reimburse for telemonitoring devices • Benefits the entire health care industry and reduces cost at multiple levels. (Insurance companies, patients and hospitals)
Create secure website and computer application to compliment Health Buddy. • Gives patients a variety of choices to transmit data • Inexpensive and effective, with no need to upgrade Health Buddy
Integrate Health Buddy with alternative technologies • Having options to do telemonitoring via internet, mobile application and voice based automated telephone systems will allow VNHS to keep the cost low.
Create a marketing strategy that targets hospitals and insurance companies that do not have a preferred partner status