VITAL SIGNS VIA BROADBAND: - Broadband Illinois

-30-before they “fall off the cliff”—in other words, to keep patients who are not “sick” frombecoming sick. As with the earlier weight monitoring program, when patients respond toquestions regularly nurses are able to get a picture of the patient’s health and communicate withpatients when care is needed.CMO’s experience with Care Connect has been very positive. Over the first year of theprogram, the 100 or so patients who joined and stayed for at least 6 months have enjoyedreductions of 38% and 55% in inpatient admissions and emergency room visits respectively.CMO’s costs for these patients have fallen from $23,000 per patient per year to $15,000 (-35%).This more than offsets the costs of providing the devices and managing the program (about$2,000 per patient per year).CMO has recently begun working with the Health Hero Network’s Health Buddy device,also a telephone supported system, which reinforces self-maintenance behaviors by providingdirected feedback around a broad array of topics, including why to take your medications andwhy to eat regularly. A clinician reviewing the results of these interactions continues to beintegral to the success of these programs.Montefiore and CMO are also managing Care Guidance, a program launched in June2006 when CMO/Montefiore was selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(“CMS”) as one of the six demonstration sites for the High Cost Beneficiary demonstrationproject. Care Guidance is designed to improve the care and lower the costs of high riskbeneficiaries participating in the original Medicare fee-for-service program. A multidisciplinaryteam of RNs, MSWs, pharmacists, LPNs, physicians, and case workers provide carecoordination and social support to 3800 elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries living in the