New Peer-Reviewed Clinical Studies Show SonarMD Reduces Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations for Patients with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease

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May 21, 2024, 00:01 ET

Two Studies Presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) Highlights How Digital Platform Engages Patients In Between Appointments to Reduce Risk for Complications

CHICAGO, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SonarMD today presented positive results from two large, longitudinal studies evaluating several major drivers of medical costs in people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) – defined as people living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease – and enrolled in the company's end-to-end, digital care coordination program. In both studies, participants enrolled in the SonarMD platform experienced a statistically significant and substantial decline in Emergency Department visits and In-patient Admissions compared to risk-matched control groups. These data were presented at the Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) Annual Meeting taking place in Washington, D.C., May 18-21, 2024.

Affecting up to 70 million Americans, the U.S. spends $136 billion each year on digestive health as these conditions are complex to predict, treat and manage. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis require close monitoring to reduce the risk for complications that lead to lengthy hospital stays and significant medical spend. SonarMD supports patients' outcomes by entering risk bearing value-based care arrangements with major health plans and their contracted gastroenterology practices, who then offer the digital platform at no cost to their patients. In addition to providing a holistic health program, the digital platform risk stratifies patients and performs continuous symptom checks to identify deteriorating symptoms sooner and communicate changes to physicians, meaning that care teams can intervene faster to keep patients healthier and lower the overall cost of care.

"The richness and volume of data from these two lengthy studies definitively shows that we can improve patient outcomes simply by keeping closer tabs on IBD symptoms in between appointments. We are empowering both patients and physicians to proactively address deteriorating symptoms before they cause major problems requiring intervention," said Dr. Kosinski, SonarMD Founder & Board Member. "In addition to improving patient outcomes, these large studies confirm that SonarMD offers value to health plans who experience significant cost savings through reduced healthcare utilization, which ultimately benefits all members of the health plan."

Study One: Hospital Visits Significantly Reduced Across a Two-Year Period
In a retroactive, 24-month study, researchers compared key drivers of medical costs in a SonarMD engaged population of 495 patients with IBD from three New Jersey-based medical practices against a risk-matched, control population of 2,695 patients with identical plan coverage where the SonarMD platform was not deployed. All percentages are calculated per 1,000 members.

Study One Results:

In year 1 (2021), the rate of IBD-related emergency department visits for the SonarMD cohort was 18% lower than the control group and in year 2 (2022) the rate was 46% less than the control group (p=0.003).
In year 1 (2021), the rate of IBD-related inpatient admissions for the SonarMD cohort was 20% lower than the control group and in year 2 the rate was 78% lower as compared with the control group (p=0.008).

Study Two: Large 12-Month Study Confirms Reduced Healthcare Utilization Among IBD Patients
In this 12-month retrospective study, researchers compared 1,008 Minnesota-based IBD patients enrolled in SonarMD to 1,657 risk score-matched unenrolled IBD patients from a single major health plan. The risk score is based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk model, which estimates future health care costs for patients, with additional IBD specific categories to better reflect cost and utilization variance for members with IBD. All percentages are calculated per 1,000 members.

Study Two Results:

The rate of disease related emergency department admits for SonarMD patients was 15% lower than the control group (p=0.0002)
The rate of disease related inpatient admits for SonarMD patients was 14% lower than the control group (p=0.005)

Researchers noted in their conclusion that these data stem from a sophisticated practice where there is a dedicated IBD team with imbedded protocols. Yet, even with comprehensive protocols in place (where the percentage decrease is lower in this better controlled patient population), the SonarMD group still experienced a statistically significant reduced rate of complications that required emergency room visits and hospital admittance.

"Most people living with chronic illness only get to see their specialist periodically and appointments move quickly," said Beth Houck, CEO of SonarMD. "These studies confirm that our technology-forward, digital, end-to-end, holistic health care coordination program helps people living with IBD stay better connected to their health care team, which is vital to catch changes early and reduce the risk for serious complications. Our mission is to help patients stay healthier and out of the hospital."

Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW is an in-person and online meeting from May 18-21, 2024. The meeting showcases more than 4,400 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at www.ddw.org

About SonarMD
SonarMD aligns incentives around the doctor-patient relationship to reimagine care for complex chronic GI diseases. Using predictive analytics and human support, the SonarMD digital platform identifies clinical deterioration and makes it easier for patients and specialists to proactively address problems before they become health emergencies. In addition to symptoms tracking, patients have access to holistic health programs, including diet and nutrition counseling, emotional health services and sleep improvement interventions that improve their overall quality of care for services that traditionally can be difficult to get reimbursed. For more information, visit SonarMD.com.

Contact:
Jessica Daitch
Jessica L. Daitch Communications, LLC -- Inspired Health Communications & Strategy
917-816-6712
[email protected]

SOURCE SonarMD