Banner Health reduces hospital admissions by nearly 50 percent managing high-cost patients by leveraging Philips' telehealth program

In this updated study, Philips and Banner examined 128³ patients who had at least one year pre-IAC and one year post-IAC follow up to see the prolonged impact of the IAC program on patient outcomes. The analysis of patient results over the first full year of the program revealed that the IAC program helped:

• Reduce overall costs of care by 34.5 percent. This cost saving was driven primarily by a reduction in hospitalization rates and days in the hospital, as well as a reduction in professional service and outpatient costs.
• Reduce hospitalizations by 49.5 percent. Prior to enrollment in the IAC program, there were 10.9 hospitalizations per 100 patients per month; after enrollment, the acute and long-term hospitalization rate dropped to 5.5 hospitalizations per 100 patients per month.
• Reduce the number of days in hospital by 50 percent. Prior to enrollment, the average number of days in the hospital was 60 days per 100 patients per month, compared to 30 days after enrollment.
• Reduce the 30-day readmission rate by 75 percent. The 30-day readmission rate went from 20 percent prior to enrollment to 5 percent after enrollment.

"This updated data of our telehealth program shows that we were able to achieve even more significant cost savings and reduced hospitalization rates by continuing to leverage Philips' powerful telehealth solution," said Deb Dahl, Vice President, Patient Care Innovation, Banner Health. "We have been able to make significant improvements with our most complex patients over long periods of time, and the results can potentially be applied to better manage the health of other patient populations."

The one year post-IAC follow up results presented in this study are significant as they provide an even more accurate picture of day-to-day patient outcomes of the IAC program. The longer patients with chronic conditions are monitored, the more difficult it is to sustain or improve outcomes due to multiple factors, including the increased chances of chronic conditions worsening and the Hawthorne effect, in which research participants alter their natural behavior in the short-term due to their awareness of being evaluated⁴. As time passes with this psychological phenomenon, participants are gradually more likely to forget they are being evaluated and act natural, instead of trying to put forth their best behaviors.

"Connected care technology can be a powerful tool in improving care while reducing costs, and having data that demonstrates its long-term success is critical to driving wider adoption by both patients and care providers," said Manu Varma, General Manager and Head of Philips, Hospital to Home. "We applaud Banner for the dedicated investments and inventive processes they have put in place allowing them to achieve these substantial results."

The Philips IAC program is part of a suite of integrated enterprise telehealth solutions powered by Philips to help improve outcomes, provide better value and expand access to quality care. These programs help address multiple cohorts within a population ranging from highest cost patients with intensive ambulatory care and acute needs, to discharge transition and chronic patient management, to prevention and wellness for the general population. Philips telehealth programs are designed to leverage a proactive care model to clinically transform the delivery of care to address growing clinician shortages while improving patient outcomes. For more information on the full suite of Philips clinical telehealth programs, visit www.hospitaltohome.philips.com.  

For further information, please contact:
Kathy O'Reilly
Philips Group Communications
(o) 978-659-2638 (m) 978-221-8919
[email protected] 
Twitter: @kathyoreilly

About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Banner Health: 
Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the United States, managing 28 acute care hospitals, the Banner Health Network and Banner Medical Group, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health operates in seven states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com.

¹ Dahl, D., Khurana MD, H. (2015). Impact of an intensive ambulatory program on both financial and clinical outcomes in Banner Health, revisit the initial cohort with extended follow-up. Unpublished internal study.
² Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ, The Concentration and Persistence in the Level of Health Expenditures over Time: Estimates for the U.S. Population, 2008-2009.
³ This number represents the patients enrolled in the IAC program who had data available beginning one year prior to entering the IAC program, and one year of data after entering the program.
⁴ Campbell, Jack P et al. Hawthorne Effect: Implications for Prehospital Research. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 26, Issue 5, 590 – 594.

SOURCE Royal Philips

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