Post-acute care facilities are faced with an increasingly competitive market that requires facilities to set themselves apart with higher quality resident care but also improved financial performance in a field witnessing over capacity. Frost & Sullivan has identified contact-free continuous monitoring (CFCM) as a new technology to address these challenges. This solution transmits real-time data captured at the resident’s bed directly to staff, and instantly alerts when values fall outside of pre-set parameters in order to intervene before a resident becomes critical and requires rehospitalization.
Frost & Sullivan’s new white paper, “Technology as a Competitive Edge for Post-Acute Providers,” highlights how this technology has proven effective at reducing rates of rehospitalization by lowering the incidence of falls and earlier identification of residents who are deteriorating, all while avoiding audible alarms in the resident’s room.
In CFCM, a sensor is placed under the bed mattress or within a chair cushion to monitor resident vital signs and motion continuously. The data are relayed to the nurse workstation and mobile devices such as smartphones, so the staff is instantly aware of changes giving them time to assess and treat the resident within the post-acute facility reducing the likelihood of rehospitalization from clinical deterioration, fall, or pressure ulcers.
The paper suggests the average post-acute facility could increase its revenue by 22% and profit by 13% by installing CFCM in its existing beds, thereby allowing more medically complex residents to be admitted to the facility. This number is equivalent to a revenue increase of approximately $3.6 million per facility. However, if CFCM were applied in a similar fashion across all U.S. post-acute care facilities, Frost & Sullivan estimates the industry could expect an increase of approximately $40 billion in revenue. This additional revenue would be driven by a shift of more medically complex residents with higher reimbursement rates being cared for in a post-acute care setting instead of a hospital or at home. In addition, this transition could be expected to add $7.66 billion in profits to the post-acute industry which could be used, in part, to make investments in staff, infrastructure and technology.
While adoption of CFCM in post-acute care is still new, the facilities interviewed by Frost & Sullivan report positive results. In 2017, the Allure Group decided to begin the process of installing EarlySense’s CFCM systems in 1,500 beds located in all six facilities in New York City. “The decision to implement CFCM was an extension of our ongoing commitment to provide the highest quality care for our residents, as well as peace of mind for their families,” states Melissa Powell, LNHA, Chief Operating Officer of Allure Group. “By alerting us to potential early signs of risk, continuous monitoring has helped us reduce falls and hospital readmissions. The contact-free aspect is especially useful as our residents appreciate not having to be hooked up to wires.”
