Press release

Hospital Discharge Algorithm Saves $860 Per Patient Episode and Reduces Readmissions, According to New Data from Remedy Labs

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Remedy,
America’s leading episodes of care company, today announced findings
from its study, “Association
of Decision Support for Hospital Discharge Disposition with Outcomes,”
published in the June 2019 edition of the American Journal of Managed
Care. Remedy connects employers, insurance companies and health care
systems to deliver more cost-effective care and improved consumer
experiences.

The study verified the efficacy of a clinical decision support (CDS)
algorithm in determining the optimal next site of care for patients
leaving the hospital while avoiding unintended effects such as increases
in readmissions, emergency department (ED) use and overall spending. The
algorithm was built and tested within Remedy’s innovation incubator,
Remedy Labs, and is currently in use by several Remedy partners through
the proprietary Care at the Right Location (CARL) tool.

“Spending on post-acute care accounts for a substantial portion of
overall healthcare costs and is growing faster than any other spending
category, so it’s important for providers to be thoughtful about how
they utilize those resources,” said study author and Chief Medical
Officer at Remedy, Win Whitcomb, M.D. “The CARL tool is a gamechanger
for organizations participating in value-based payment models like ACOs
and bundled payments where this category represents an opportunity for
savings, but it’s also important to patients who want to recover in the
comfort of their own homes whenever possible.”

Takeaway points from the study include:

  • Following the algorithm’s recommended level of care was associated
    with an $860 decrease in spending, fewer readmissions, and unchanged
    ED use over a 90-day episode compared to those where the recommended
    level of care was not followed.
  • The judicious use of post-acute care resources by the hospital
    discharge team can be enhanced by using the decision-support algorithm.
  • Remedy’s CDS algorithm incorporating cognition, ambulation, activities
    of daily living, capable caregiver availability, skilled therapy and
    skilled nursing needs was evaluated in 15,887 patients participating
    in Medicare’s bundled payment program.

“At Remedy, we are constantly seeking new ways to drive greater value,
efficiency, and health outcomes, and we’ve created something remarkable
with CARL,” said Remedy President and CFO, Steve Senneff. “Many of our
provider partners are already seeing the benefits of deploying the right
resources at the right time, including better outcomes for patients and
significant savings that can be reallocated to fulfill other needs. That
is the promise of high-quality healthcare and the power of reorganizing
care around patient episodes.”

Study Design
This study entailed a retrospective review of a
fee-for-service Medicare patients age 65 and older linked to a database
of patients receiving CDS.

Methods
The study evaluated patients whose discharge
disposition was consistent with the CDS recommendation versus those
whose were not and patients receiving CDS for discharge disposition
versus those who did not, regardless of concordance. Outcomes were
linked to spending over a 90-day episode, 90-day readmissions and ED
utilization not associated with a readmission.

Remedy Labs

Remedy Labs is an innovation incubator that identifies and studies the
clinical efficiencies that are employed across Remedy’s business lines.
Led by our clinicians, Remedy Labs analyzes our massive claims database
to identify the levers that truly impact care delivery and promotes care
redesign through shared knowledge to drive innovation in healthcare
delivery via episodes. A central focus of Remedy Labs is the human
aspect of care delivery, focusing on patient and value first, to
highlight impact for patients and providers.

Remedy

Remedy is America’s leading episodes of care company, which connects
employers, insurance companies, and health care systems to deliver more
cost-effective care and improved consumer experiences. Remedy delivers
software and services enabling health care providers and health insurers
to organize and finance health care around patient episodes of care. The
Company’s bundled payment network serves Medicare and private insurers
and manages over $9 billion of annual health spending. For more
information, visit www.powerofremedy.com.