Press Release

[ATLANTA, GA. - April 4, 2007]

WEBVMC’S TELEHEALTH SYSTEM HELPS PIEDMONT HOSPITAL

REDUCE HEART FAILURE PATIENT READMISSIONS BY 75 PERCENT

Three-year study at Atlanta’s Fuqua Heart Center shows high patient satisfaction and marked reduction in hospital readmissions

The Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta at Piedmont Hospital, a recognized leader in cardiovascular care, announced a dramatic improvement in patient outcomes and reduced hospital readmissions as a result of their utilization of the RemoteNurse™ technology from WebVMC, a leading provider of telehealth technology. 

Hospital readmission 30 days after discharge for heart failure patients in the telehealth program were 75 percent lower than for patients not in the program, a difference of a 1.45 percent readmission rate versus a 5.85 percent readmission rate. Both figures are significantly below the national average of 20 percent for hospital readmissions for heart failure patients 30 days after discharge.

The lower readmission rates for telehealth patients were sustained over time, with only 3.6 percent of the telehealth patients requiring hospitalization at 90 days post-discharge as compared to 11 percent of patients not in the telehealth program.

The heart center initially purchased 70 RemoteNurse units and installed them in various home locations, enabling the nurses to monitor patients remotely. Patients and their caregivers recorded their health status each day. This information was immediately accessible to the nurses monitoring those patients. In addition to improving the patients’ health status, the telehealth program helped the nursing staff be more efficient and generated cost savings for the hospital through better staffing efficiency, decreased readmissions and reduced visits to the emergency room.

In addition to these positive healthcare outcomes, 100 percent of the patients surveyed rated the program as excellent to good.  All patients reported that the RemoteNurse was easy to use and helped them manage or improve their health. Many commented on the feelings of reassurance and self-empowerment that the system provided.

Physicians at the hospital appreciate the improved outcomes and dedicated care their patients receive. 

“Overall, the hospital is extremely pleased with the results of the program,” said Mark Silverman, M.D., Fuqua Chief of Cardiology at Piedmont Hospital. “This is one of the major programs the hospital has added. The patients I send to the Heart Failure Resource Center are clearly doing much better and staying out of the hospital which is important to the patient and the hospital.”

The pioneering program began in 2004 when Fuqua Heart Center began community outreach to heart failure patients in an effort to improve patient care and reduce chronic readmissions through the emergency department. The program goals were to increase the geographical reach of services, serve more patients, and increase the intensity of services for high risk, chronically-ill patients.

“We were looking for a program that would be user-friendly, accessible and cost effective for the nursing staff,” said Jennie Mattia, RN, manager of cardiovascular quality and heart failure disease management at the Fuqua Heart Center. “When we saw a demonstration of WebVMC’s Web-based program and RemoteNurse monitor unit, we were immediately impressed with its ease of use for patients and staff, and its connectivity that made information available anytime from any PC and even notified our nurses about readings that indicated a potential problem.”

Adds Scott Sheppard, president and chief technology officer of WebVMC, “The HFRC needed a system that was cost-effective, easy to use, and Web-based to allow access to data anytime, anywhere.  Our product was specifically designed to meet those criteria and other unique needs that hospitals demand.”