WEDNESDAY, May 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Installation of a health and safety passive remote patient monitoring (PRPM) system in the homes of older adults seems to result in health care cost savings, according to a study published online April 13 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Michael Finch, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues installed health and safety PRPM systems in the homes of 268 enrollees dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. A case manager monitored and proactively intervened when deviation from baseline subject behavior was detected. Twelve months of claims data were collected to assess health care use and costs.
The researchers found that while the small sample size precluded cost differences that were statistically significant, the participant group had substantially reduced custodial care use, emergency department use, inpatient stays, and emergency department costs, compared to two control groups -- a concurrent group of enrollees who declined the technology and a historical, age-matched cohort.
"Although more cost analyses are warranted, ambient assisted living technologies are a potentially valuable investment for older adult care," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to Healthsense (now part of GreatCall), which commissioned the study.
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