A study in Hypertension used private insurance claims data to simulate possible cost savings if hypertension patients monitored their blood pressure at home rather than relying on clinic visits. Researchers found at-home monitoring to save insurers between $33 and $166 per member in the first year and between $415 and $1,364 over the course of a patient’s treatment.
Another study in Telemedicine and eHealth tracked the effectiveness of a remote monitoring program among 50 heart failure patients admitted to Flagstaff (Ariz.) Medical Center. The patients received mobile, broadband-enabled devices to help monitor their conditions. After six months, researchers found average number of hospitalizations decreased 43 percent as compared with a control group. This drop in hospitalizations was associated with cost savings of 67 percent, or from about $138,600 per patient to $44,647.
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