Living Well Blog

As healthcare costs continue to increase, the government’s primary focus has been geared towards inpatient hospital stays for acute or chronic conditions. Acute or chronic conditions that could have been handled on an outpatient basis are the number one area for cost reductions. With the passage of PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), Congress gave Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to penalize hospitals for excess readmission rates starting federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013 where the initial focus will be placed on heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and pneumonia. CMS has already begun reporting readmissions rates for these conditions on its Hospital Compare Web site. The implementation of Telehealth services and devices meet care providers’ goals in improving outcomes, avoiding unnecessary readmissions and maintaining patient independence. CMS Telehealth accomplishes this by providing 24 hours a day 7 days a week comprehensive approach to Telehealth in and out-of- home, which includes: complete installation, maintenance, delivery education, training, marketing, distribution and integration of all our products and services, with a 24/7 Central Monitoring Station that is supervised by clinical and technical personnel. Read more