From Academia to Industry: A Scientific Approach to Remote Patient Monitoring

Academia to Industry - Company Origins

As a co-founder of HealthSnap , I'm incredibly proud of our unique backstory and the journey we've undertaken to reach this point. Unlike many health tech companies out there, we emerged from academia. We started as a wellness initiative aimed at equipping future doctors with the skills they need to proactively connect with patients in an evidence-based manner using complementary lifestyle strategies and advances in technology. The research goals of the project were to examine the effectiveness of our novel algorithm-based approach, integrating lifestyle strategies and care plans on patient outcomes.

Our concept, though vastly different from what we are today, originated around 2015 and rapidly gained traction within the university community. Its immense popularity and potential impact on patient care led to recommendations for us to explore the system as part of a private company. This would allow us to scale across the country and extend the benefits of this model to a broader patient population.

Without much business experience, we entered the digital health space with a lot to learn. We quickly discovered that providers had limited bandwidth to readily incorporate our model into their practice. There was also a degree of skepticism and resistance towards the idea of implementing new technology. Additionally, although our program was beneficial for patients, there was no direct source of monetary incentive that could lead to increased revenue for the practice; making the incorporation of our system into a provider’s workflow even less likely.

In a fortunate turn of events, CMS released the Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) reimbursement codes. This aligned with our commitment to technology and our increased focus on using home devices and wearables to assess and monitor patient health. Essentially, there was no need for us to adapt to a new business model to conform to these codes - we were ready to launch. But this time, not only did we have an opportunity for physicians to drive additional revenue while helping patients, we relied on a methodology that didn't disrupt workflows and staff, and seamlessly integrated into their EHR.

Does It Work? HealthSnap’s Outcome Measures

Taking into a fee-for-service model really kicked HealthSnap into high gear. But even as we dipped our toes into the private sector, we never lost sight of our foundation rooted in science. Our goal? To always focus on the patient experience, using the latest research to administer patient care plans that are as engaging as they are effective.

When we were piecing together our system, we dove headfirst into the research on RPM's effectiveness. Unfortunately, the research out there was sparse and the results were all over the map, which was worrisome at first. But our main focus was aligning our approach with the data that showed the best use of RPM for patient care. Sifting through the data, we spotted a few patterns in the successful RPM studies.

First off, it was clear as day that doctors needed to get their hands on actionable insights from the RPM data to make informed clinical decisions. Also, our approach had to be more of a friendly nudge for patients rather than over-coaching them. We're all about "being a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage." Our care navigators provide concierge-style care, aiming to boost patient self-efficacy and health literacy. This approach helps patients make sense of their care plans and use the feedback from their remote monitoring data to see the effects of the care plan in action.

Ultimately, we've designed an RPM approach that's in perfect harmony with the evidence, putting patient outcomes front and center. And you can bet we'll keep scrutinizing the effectiveness of our scientific approach to Chronic Care Management (CCM) and RPM. The results so far have been nothing short of impressive and clinically meaningful, further bolstering our faith in a science-backed, patient-focused approach to healthcare.

As we keep growing and evolving, we remain committed to our founding principles—using rock-solid scientific evidence as our foundation, prioritizing patient outcomes, and nurturing proactive, meaningful connections between healthcare providers and patients.

Does It Work? HealthSnap’s Outcome Measures

I am pleased to report that our approach is demonstrating significant success among all our patients, particularly those who are managing cardiometabolic diseases. The blood pressure data we are receiving from our RPM and CCM patients is very encouraging.

For patients dealing with stage 2 hypertension, we have recorded an approximate 20-point reduction in systolic pressure—a highly significant result. Moreover, it appears that the effectiveness of our program increases over time. The longer a patient remains on the program, the more substantial the improvements we observe. We have identified a similar trend among our stage 1 hypertension patients, where we have documented an approximate 10-point improvement. This aligns with the fact that our average stage 2 patient is roughly 20 points away from control, and our stage 1 patients are about 10 points away. We have also observed significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. Whether HealthSnap's methods are applied in Primary Care or Specialty Care settings, the benefits are consistently evident.

These results are particularly exciting given the aforementioned meta-analysis from The Lancet, which indicated that every 5-point lowering of systolic pressure is accompanied by about a 10% reduction in cardiovascular events.

Synergy Between CCM & RPM

Moreover, we've seen a significant improvement in patients who are dual enrolled over those on one program alone. The analysis involved approximately 30,000 patients and focused on the impact of our HealthSnap program after a period of at least 90 days. Our patient cohort was a diverse group, with some being monitored for reasons beyond hypertension for reasons where blood pressure would not be expected to decrease. These included patients at risk of falling, those with atrial arrhythmias, and individuals participating in wellness programs. Despite the heterogeneity of the group, we found a statistically significant decrease in blood pressure across the board.

Of particular interest was the comparison between patients enrolled solely in RPM and those dually enrolled in both Chronic Care Management (CCM) and RPM. Our findings revealed that while both groups showed improvement, patients who were dually enrolled in RPM and CCM demonstrated statistically greater levels of improvement.

These findings underscore the value of our HealthSnap program in managing hypertension and potentially other health conditions. They also highlight the integrative clinical synergy of dual enrollment in RPM and CCM, opening up new avenues for patient care optimization

Our preliminary machine learning and predictive analytics indicate that transmission index and duration of enrollment are among the top predictors of improved blood pressure outcomes.

At HealthSnap, we are driven by evidence and committed to delivering patient-centric, outcome-oriented care. As we continue our mission, we look forward to sharing more about our progress and the positive impact we're making on patient health.