If one needs more evidence that technology can play a key role in helping the elderly live healthier, longer lives, here it is.
According to an article on PR Newswire, Seniorlink, Inc., a tech-enabled health services company, found in a recent study that medically complex patients age 65 and older had dramatically lower rates of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and falls when family caregivers and clinicians engaged with each other through a technology-enabled care plan. The analysis also revealed that this approach resulted in a significant reduction in healthcare costs.
The results further illustrated the benefits of technology-enabled caregiving that were released in a joint study last year by Seniorlink and health and aging services expert Anne Tumlinson. According to the article, that study, which examined data from almost 2,000 Seniorlink patients in Massachusetts and Indiana and compared it to the national benchmark Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey (MCBS), found that the U.S. healthcare system could save $2.8 million annually for every 1,000 highly complex patients by engaging family caregivers with clinical care teams.
Elderly patients suffering from five or more chronic health conditions, and needing assistance with three or more activities of daily living, experienced a 40 percent reduction in hospitalizations, a 32 percent drop in ER visits and 75 percent fewer falls when supported by Seniorlink’s connected program, according to the article.
“As the U.S. population ages and medical needs increase, it becomes imperative for us to find ways to engage family caregivers in care delivery and connect them with professional care teams through technology,” said Thomas Riley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seniorlink, in the article.
Jay V. Patel, Clinical Transformation Officer at Seniorlink, presented the study’s results in a poster entitled, “Seniorlink Improves Outcomes, Reduces Costs, and Facilitates Aging in Place for Complex Populations” at the American Society on Aging’s Aging in America conference, which took place on March 26-29 in San Francisco. Patel discussed the poster in the conference’s Exhibit Hall on March 28th.
“Our study demonstrates that as a patient requires more complex medical and psychosocial needs, Seniorlink’s care collaboration solutions have a dramatic effect on outcomes and cost savings,” Patel said in the article.
