An innovative discharge program developed by Saddleback Memorial Medical
Center combining coordination of hospital and community resources,
strong patient education and the IDEAL
LIFE Bluetooth-enabled wireless remote health monitoring system has
helped to reduce congestive heart failure (CHF) readmissions by 50
percent
“In addition to the focus on the patient’s home, we can
even place self-serve kiosks at local communities and senior centers to
enable large scale community connectivity between patients, physicians
and hospitals.”
Due to the success of the program, Saddleback Memorial is expanding the
model, which is built on care coordination, informatics and technology,
to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“At Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, we are committed to improving
outcomes: reducing preventable readmissions and improving the quality of
life and physical functioning for our patients,” said Laurie Carson,
FNP-C, MSN, heart failure outreach care coordinator. “The results from
the CHF program are truly impressive when you consider that a
significant percentage of our patients are elderly, have a range of
comorbidities and are often uncomfortable with technology. The program
has been very well received by our staff, physicians and patients and we
are excited about expanding it.”
"The success Saddleback Memorial has achieved shows the impact we can
have in patients’ lives by combining care coordination with the use of
affordable, easy to use tools that fit the lifestyle of patients and the
workflow of their care team," said Jason Goldberg, president and founder
of IDEAL LIFE. “In addition to the focus on the patient’s home, we can
even place self-serve kiosks at local communities and senior centers to
enable large scale community connectivity between patients, physicians
and hospitals.”
Today, hospitals are especially challenged to find ways to improve
management of all chronic illnesses in the face of proposals to slash
Medicare payments to facilities that readmit patients within a specific
time period. According to the American Hospital Association, these new
regulations would raise costs to hospitals an estimated $19 billion over
10 years.