Tag Archives: Value-Based Care

Relating ‘Big Data Trends in Healthcare’ to Wearable Medical Device Design

How are Value-Based Care, CJR, BPCI and Other Medicare Reimbursement Models Increasing Demand for Wearable Medical Devices?

Internet Of Things Iot Health Care Concept Doctor Pressing Ic

IT Pro Portal recently published “Five Big Data Trends in Healthcare,” a headline that may not immediately seem relevant to medical device design and development. However, it illuminates some crucial insights into both where the medical device industry current is and where it is going, particularly in respect to:

  • Value-Based Patient-Centric Care
  • The Healthcare Internet of Things
  • Predictive analytics to improve outcomes
  • Real-Time Monitoring of Patients

Value-based care (also known as “pay for performance” and “value-based purchasing”) is a payment model that incentivizes positive outcomes for acute care patients—rather than the more traditional “fee for service” model that strictly pays (or reimburses) hospitals and clinics for services rendered (regardless of outcomes).

 

For example, instead of an orthopedic surgery center being paid for performing a knee replacement procedure (regardless of how well the patient recovers), the VBC model pays the center based on clearly-defined criteria that measures performance—which requires the center to monitor a patient throughout the entire “episode of care” and to collect and report data.

 

The CJR Example

Healthcare providers that participate in Medicare and Medicaid are increasingly getting reimbursed through the VBC model, but often with a twist: bundled payments. One such program in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, more commonly known as CJR.

 

In the CJR model, Medicaid and Medicare link payments for multiple services for an episode of care through the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative. Using the knee replacement surgery example again, this would mean that the surgeon and the post-surgery physical therapist get paid based on outcome of the entire episode of care—which makes monitoring, data collection and reporting even more complicated and costly.

 

Other Key Factors

Among the many other factors for why we have seen a spike in requests to develop wearable medical devices and IoT healthcare devices, VBC, BPCI and the like have played a role because they yield multiple advantages in this context, including:

  • 24/7 off-site monitoring: Connected medical devices enable healthcare providers to collect crucial data about a patient’s recovery around-the-clock and immediately know if there are any deviations from a positive outcome.
  • Convenience for patients: Connected monitoring yields an additional benefit for elderly patients and those that have difficulty with getting transportation to their doctor because it reduces the make appointments for on-site checkups, evaluations, etc.
  • Reduced cost: Connected medical devices (and the networks for connect them) can reduce or even eliminates some administrative and clinical costs because of the reasons explained in the previous two points.

As explained in the article, “Capturing extensive patient data allows for better care coordination and patient engagement,” which could not be more true. Although that concept leans more towards healthcare IT rather than medical devices, the reality is those devices—especially wearables and IoT medical devices—are often the tools to capture and transmit that data.

 


 

DeviceLab is an ISO-13485 certified medical device development company that has completed more than 100 medical device design projects of varying complexity—including medical device software development and wireless medical device design services for the newest breeds of medical IoT, mHealth and medical wearables.

IoT, Human Factors and Value-Based Care: Our Recommended Topics at MDM 2017

Orange County medical device design and development company DeviceLab shares its recommendations for panels and presentations at MDM 2017.

Earlier this week, we published a news release that announced our participation at the upcoming 32nd Annual MD&M West Conference as an exhibitor.

 

Of course, we are excited to attend what is billed as “the world’s largest collection of medical device manufacturers and suppliers” and to demonstrate our  Apollo™ wireless medical device electronic systems platform via our breathtaking “hospital bed of the future” display.

 

However, these conferences are not just about showcasing medical device design and development companies, but instead to provide opportunities for the medtech community to educate and engage in panels and presentations.

 

As much as possible, we try to find time away from our booth to attend these panels and talks. If you are attending MDM 2017—and especially if you follow this blog—the following are the topics for which we are most interested and think you will be too!

 

Medical IoT and Healthcare Wearables

For the past couple years, we’ve been closely following wireless medical device design in our blog. Our most recent blogs were about medical IoT and healthcare wearables! Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we are eager to attend as many medical IoT and healthcare wearables events as we can, especially these:

Human Factors in Medical Device Design

Medical device human factors is another topic that we’ve recently covered in our blog, and again, we are enthused to learn there will be several intriguing events that explore this crucial aspect of medical device design success:

Value-Based Care and Medical Devices

Although we don’t write much about value-based care as it relates to medical devices, we still think this is an important topic due to how it is changing Medicare reimbursements for hospitals and clinics:


 

DeviceLab will be at booth 813 on February 7–8 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and on February 9 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.