Page 3 Case Studies in Telehealth Adoption Partners Health Care Connecting Heart Failure Patients to Through Monitoring

PArTners heAlThcAre: connecTing heArT FAilure PATienTs To Providers Through remoTe moniToring 3

for using technology-enabled strategies to aid in rede- exchange during care transitions across settings and
signed care have been identified, Partners’ Center for caregivers.
Connected Health will lead the design and develop-
ment of patient-centered telehealth solutions and THE CENTER FOR CONNECTED HEALTH’S
remote health services. PCH will help introduce them ROLE IN ADVANCING PATIENT-CENTERED
into practice across the Partners’ network. TECHNOLOGY
In 1995, Partners established Partners Telemedicine
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT to use consumer-ready technologies to enhance the
INITIATIVES THAT REDUCE PREVENTABLE patient–physician relationship and deliver remote
READMISSIONS care. This entity later evolved to become the Center
A top strategic priority at Partners is to reduce 30-day for Connected Health. “Connected health” signifies
readmissions to improve the quality of patient care and new patient-centered technology strategies and care
patient satisfaction and minimize risk for reductions in models that use information and communications tech-
Medicare payments. In a survey of Massachusetts hos- nology—cell phones, computers, networked devices,
pitals, more than 10 percent of patients were reported and simple remote monitoring tools—to support the
to have been readmitted for the same or unrelated com- health care needs of patients in community-based set-
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plaints within 30 days. Processes that ensure seam- tings without disrupting their day-to-day lives. CCH
less transitions from hospital to other care settings are solutions help providers and patients manage chronic
essential. These include improvements in educating conditions, maintain health and wellness, and improve
patients and caregivers, reconciling medications care- adherence, engagement, and clinical outcomes. To
fully before and after discharge, communicating with date, CCH has generated more than 100 scholarly
receiving clinicians, and ensuring prompt outpatient publications and helped more than 30,000 patients. In
follow-up. Exhibit 1 illustrates 30-day readmission 2011, CCH collected its one millionth vital life sign
rates for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and from program participants. 8
pneumonia at selected Partners’ hospitals. Partners CCH’s programs use a combination of remote
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is currently pilot-testing several programs addressing monitoring, social media, and data management appli-
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patient safety, experience, and quality, with a goal of cations to enhance patient adherence and engagement
reducing 30-day readmission rates for patients at high to realize improvements in care quality and cost out-
risk of readmission. These include programs that tar- comes. The center also supports mobile health initia-
get critical failures in communication and information tives, including a prenatal care text-messaging program

Exhibit 1. 30-Day Readmission Rates at Selected Partners Hospitals
for Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, and Pneumonia

Brigham & Mass. Newton- North Shore U.S.
Women’s Faulkner General Wellesley Medical National
Hospital Hospital Hospital Hospital Center Rate
Acute myocardial infarction 21.1% 21.1% 22.1% 20.8% 18.6% 19.8%
Heart failure 23.7 27.0 23.7 23.8 22.8 24.8
Pneumonia 20.4 20.0 19.0 17.1 18.6 18.4

Partners HealthCare Data Period: July 1, 2007–June 30, 2010.
Partners HealthCare Source: Hospital Compare.
Reference Point Source: U.S. National Rate for Heart Failure, Acute Myocardial Infarction, and Pneumonia for Medicare Patients.