News

April 2008

Philips Announces Release of National Technology and Telehealth Study

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) today released the final results of a survey conducted by Fazzi Associates of nearly 1,000 home care agencies in the United States. Results of the Philips National Study on the Future of Technology and Telehealth in Home Care show that nearly one third of large agencies are currently using a telehealth system and that industry use of telehealth is expected to double over the next two years, principally as a means of managing patients with chronic disease. In addition, over 88 percent of agencies report that telehealth services led to an increase in quality outcomes, as evidenced by a reduction in unplanned hospitalizations and ER visits, and over 71 percent report an improvement in patient satisfaction.

Co-sponsored by Philips, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), and Fazzi Associates, this first-of-its-kind study gathered insights about the use of home care technology from nearly 1,000 agencies across the U.S. The study represented all major segments of home care: large and small, rural and urban, free-standing and hospital-based, and for profit and not-for-profit.

“What makes this study so important is that it is the first representative sample study on technology and telehealth in home care that has ever been undertaken,” said Val Halamandaris, president and CEO of NAHC. “We now have a much clearer sense of how specific segments of home care are responding to and using these technologies. One finding that is particularly significant is that the utilization of telehealth by home care agencies also correlates directly with providing the highest quality of care.”

“Philips Home Healthcare Solutions was pleased to sponsor a study of this magnitude that could provide insights to advance the home care industry, as well as share these findings at no cost to the field,” said Mike Lemnitzer, senior director, Philips Telehealth Solutions. “We believe that home health agencies will be a critical part of the solution to the U.S. healthcare crisis and ensure a continuum of care from the hospital to the home.”

According to Dr. Robert Fazzi, project co-director, the Philips study was designed to address questions that are most on the minds of agency leaders about the role of four major home care technologies: human resources and billing systems, point of care systems, electronic medical records, and telehealth systems. Given the importance of telehealth to the future of home care and hospice agencies, much of the study focused on the various types of telehealth systems being used, the components of these systems, what agency leaders liked and disliked about their systems and most importantly, what leaders felt were the most significant impact of these systems on various aspects of quality and financial outcomes. Among the findings were:

• 17.1 percent of agencies use some type of telehealth system. A much higher percentage of large agencies (32.0%) report that they provide telehealth services.
• 88.6 percent report that telehealth led to an increase in quality outcomes:
  • 76.6 percent report a reduction in unplanned hospitalizations
  • 77.2 percent report a reduction in emergency room visits
  • 71.3 percent report that telehealth services improved patient satisfaction. No agency reported that it reduced patient satisfaction.
• 83.9 percent state that less than one in ten patients refused a home telehealth system.
• 79.2 percent of patients or family members were reluctant to have the telemonitoring system removed.
• 42.8 percent report that telehealth led to a reduction in cost. A similar number reported it as cost-neutral.
• 63.5 percent report that telehealth had no impact on clinical caseloads. As more agencies use telehealth and move up the learning curve, clinical productivity measures may increase.
  • 49.7 percent report telehealth decreased on-site visits
  • 45.2 percent report telehealth increased the number of referrals
• 56.9 percent report that their nurses were very receptive to having a telehealth service after one year as compared to 36.3 percent at the beginning of the program.
• 89.1 percent stated that given everything they know today, they would still have started their telehealth program.

Philips has been active in telehealth for over seven years, and has recently focused on the home care market after its acquisitions of Lifeline and Healthwatch, both in the medical alert business.  In 2007, the company announced a preferred provider contract for telehealth solutions with the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and a GPO agreement with the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH). Building on core competencies in cardiac care, Philips offers comprehensive Home Telehealth products and services, featuring wireless measurement devices and robust web-based clinical support for post-hospital discharge monitoring. For more information about Philips telehealth solutions, email telemonitoring@philips.com or visit www.medical.philips.com/goto/telemonitoring.

To receive a copy of the full report, go to: www.philips.com/HomeCareStudy.

Cindy Campbell Named Assistant Director of Operational Consulting

Fazzi Associates is pleased and excited to name Cindy Campbell as Assistant Director of Operational Consulting. Tim Ashe, Director of Operational Consulting and a Partner at Fazzi Associates, calls Cindy a “ true” national home care leader. She is a home health advocate at state and federal levels; past NAHC Board Member and Chair of the Pediatric Home Care Association of America, and current Executive Committee Member for the American Telemedicine Association's Special Interest Group: Home Telehealth and Remote Monitoring. She is a highly skilled executive change agent providing effective organizational assessment, redesign and change management to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in a variety of home health settings throughout the country. Cindy specializes in operational reviews, OASIS improvement efforts and of course, her greatest passion, helping agencies choose, implement and maximize the value of telehealth and remote patient monitoring.

Fazzi Unveils New Web Site

While Fazzi Associates may be an agent for positive change in home care and hospice agencies throughout the country, we are also a firm that recognizes the importance of objective operational analysis and changes. During January and February a full operational review was conducted on the firm. The goal: To improve our ability to better support our clients and our colleagues. As with any operational review, many opportunities for improvement were identified. One of the first to be addressed was the need to update our web site to make it more attractive, less cluttered and more easy to navigate. Led by Fazzi’s Partner and Director of Development, Lynn Harlow, a complete review and total revamping was undertaken. Lynn combined input from staff and clients with a review of award winning sites in an array of industries and input from a national web design firm. The result: a totally new look and more dynamic and easy to use web site.

March 2008

Krafft Named APTA's 2008 Excellence in Home Care Recipient

Cindy Krafft, MS, PT, COS-C, Fazzi Associates National Senior Consultant for Rehab Services, has been named the 2008 winner of the American Physical Therapy Association's prestige's Excellence in Home Care Award. This award is presented annually in recognition to the one physical therapist that has made an exceptional contribution in promoting physical therapy practice in home care. "We are incredibly excited and pleased for Cindy," said Dr. Robert Fazzi, Managing Partner for Fazzi Associates. "Her passion, commitment and exceptional knowledge of rehab services and her ability to help agencies improve and enhance their services, has placed her consultation in high demand by agencies and associations throughout the country. To have someone of Cindy's caliber and commitment working at Fazzi Associates is certainly an honor for us," he added. Cindy is the current Vice President of the Home Health Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. She has received her COS-C, the designation of Certified OASIS Specialist - Clinical and is an affiliate member of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Krafft has presented at both state and national levels on topics of program development, therapy utilization and recruitment.

National Best Practice Study Initiated

Fazzi Associates announces a national study to test the hypothesis that the use of best practices can lead to measurable improvements in agency outcomes. Called the National Best Practice Outcome Improvement Study, the explicit goal of the study is to prove that through use of efficacy based best practice benchmarking, consultation support, training and total agency best practice operational analysis, participating agencies will obtain measurable improvement in an agency’s financial and quality outcomes.

“What we are particularly excited about,” said Gina Mazza, Study Co-Director, "is what this study will mean for participating agencies. By closely tracking the progress and changes made by the agencies involved in the study, we will learn exactly what agencies do to improve their financial and quality outcomes. We will also learn what works, what doesn't work and best practice strategies for making changes. Ultimately, we will get a clear since of the impact of using efficacy based best practices."

The study will start in April 2008. Eligibility criteria include:

• Medicare revenues equal to or greater than 50% of total revenue.
• Medicare certified for a minimum of five years.
• Has not utilized BestWorks Service.

Study findings will be shared throughout the year with updates to come on a regular basis.

Fazzi Home Health Compare Percentile Scores Release

Fazzi announces the release of the March 2008 CMS Home Health Compare scores. The update includes the March 2008 national averages plus the threshold percentiles needed to achieve best practice status: the top 20%. The latest quarterly update reveals an improved national average for two quality measures:

• Improvement in Ambulation/Locomotion and Improvement in Bathing. In addition to the increase in two national averages, the score needed to be in the top 20% has increased for three outcomes.
• Improvement in Ambulation/Locomotion, Improvement in Bathing, and Improvement in Management of Oral Medications.

Click here to get the March 2008 Home Health Compare results.