Personal Connected Health Alliance Urges Support For The Collection And Use Of Digital Technology For Patient Care As Part Of Medicare's MACRA Rule

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a letter to Andrew Slavitt, Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) expressed disappointment with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Specifically, Medicare's Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) disregarded extensive evidence and limited the use of remote monitoring in the measurement of quality care delivery to a single clinical improvement activity (Warfarin) and "bilateral exchange of patient information."

"We urge CMS to modify MIPS immediately and take every opportunity to incent the collection and use of digital, interoperable care to promote patient engagement, care management, and improve quality of care," wrote Patricia (Patty) Mechael, PhD, Executive Vice President, Personal Connected Health Alliance. "To enable broader adoption of evidence based care coordination which is enabled by remote monitoring, it is essential that CMS/Medicare explicitly incent the use of evidence based information communication tools, including remote monitoring for delivery of clinician services associated with patient centered and efficient patient care."

In this letter, PCHAlliance also cites extensive evidence and federal programs operated by the Veterans Administration, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), and the Department of Defense that support the use of remote monitoring to manage and improve care for chronic conditions, including heart failure, congestive obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, asthma, sepsis and others. The use of remote monitoring has demonstrated improved quality of care, quality of life and reduced hospitalization for individuals with chronic conditions.

About the Personal Connected Health Alliance
The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) is a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS, working to make health and wellness an effortless part of daily life. PCHAlliance is collaborating with industry, healthcare, public policy, research and advocacy groups to convene the global personal connected health community, and to accelerate the technical, business, policy and social initiatives necessary to advance the field. PCHAlliance hosts the annual Connected Health Conference, an international forum and expo for networking and showcasing advancements in research, innovations and opportunities in personal connected health. PCHAlliance is home to Continua, which publishes the annual Continua Design Guidelines, recognized as the international standard for user friendly end-to-end interoperability of personal connected health devices and systems.

SOURCE Personal Connected Health Alliance

Related Links

http://www.pchalliance.org