A digital health collaboration aims to give health systems and health plans access to both virtual visits and on-demand house calls for fragile patients living with cardiovascular disease.
Healthcare organizations looking for a more proactive method of care management for patients with cardiovascular disease should take note of a new collaboration that combines 24/7 virtual access to specialists with house calls.
MedArrive, a Texas-based company active in the mobile integrated health space, is partnering with Heartbeat Health, a New York-based provider of virtual cardiology services. The partnership will give patients access not only to specialists for a telehealth visit but also on-demand EMS providers and specially-trained paramedics for house calls.
The collaboration seeks to address the more than $320 billion, or 15% of the nation's total healthcare budget, spent each year on treating or managing cardiovascular disease (CVD). And it focuses on managing care at home, rather than waiting for patients to visit their doctor or a hospital.
Mobile integrated health and community paramedicine are fast-growing strategies being used by health plans and health systems to improve care and outcomes for so-called fragile patients, or those who often access emergency care services. The concept involves sending trained personnel, such as a paramedic, to a patient's home for on-demand or routine care management, thereby reducing the chance for health concerns that result in a 911 call and transports to the ER.
[See also: Maryland Hospital Touts Success of Community Paramedicine Program.]
The MedArrive-Heartbeat Health partnership take particular aim at the Medicaid population, many of which experience barriers to accessing on-demand care. More than 25% of that population is living with CVD, and a significant percentage of that population has a high risk of developing CVD.
"Heart disease may be the number-one killer of all people in our country, but in the intricate web of health disparities, the vulnerability of individuals on Medicaid to heart disease is an undeniable fact," MedArrive Co-founder and CEO Dan Trigub said in a press release. "They face a perfect storm of limited access to quality healthcare, socioeconomic challenges, and systemic inequalities that amplifies their risk.”
[See also: 3 Ways UMMH is Leading Care Improvement.]
Through the partnership, now being marketed to health plans, members living with CVD can access on-demand visits by a MedArrive care team, which can connect via telemedicine to cardiologists employed by Heartbeat Health for further care management and coordination.
"The integrated approach holds significant importance for engaging underserved populations, including people in rural regions or economically disadvantaged urban areas where accessing cardiology care presents greater challenges," the two companies said in the press release.
Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
More than $320 billion is spent each year on treating and managing cardiovascular disease, particularly among underserved populations.
Health plans and hospitals are investing in innovative technologies and strategies that push care into the patient's home in between doctor's visits, with a goal of improving outcomes and reducing emergency care and hospitalizations.
A new partnership between MedArrive and Heartbeat Health combines a mobile integrated health platform offering on-demand home visits by specially trained care teams with telemedicine access to cardiac care specialists.