Tag Archive for: healthcare technology

GrandCare Systems Names Daniel Maynard as New Chief Executive Officer

WEST BEND, Wisc. – November 13th , 2013

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Digital health and remote monitoring pioneer GrandCare Systems, today announced the appointment of Daniel Maynard as GrandCare’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Maynard brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his new role having previously served as CEO and President of Connecture. Maynard replaces founder Charles Hillman, who has served as CEO since 2005. Hillman, an MIT educated engineer, will now serve as GrandCare’s Chief Technical Officer and as the company’s vision leader.

“We are delighted to add a person of Dan’s experience and expertise to the GrandCare team,” said Hillman. “Dan has a proven track record of driving and managing growth in the healthcare technology sector. I look forward to leading the product development team and providing a solution that is capable, reliable, scalable and affordable.”

“I had been searching for a proven, innovative technology solution with a large growth potential in the healthcare IT industry,” said Maynard. “GrandCare is already a well-respected and credible industry leader. I look forward to joining this great team and taking GrandCare to the next level.”

Daniel Maynard has held various executive roles in the health insurance technology industry, including sales, marketing, operations, software development, financial management and corporate development. Throughout his career, he has built and led several companies, including CCISoft, Riverwood Solutions and Connecture. In 1997, Mr. Maynard formed CCISoft, which he sold to Workscape in 1999. In 2001, he formed Riverwood Solutions and continued on as president and CEO throughout the 2004 merger with Connecture. He serves on the board at Hayes technology Group and remains a strategic advisor to Alithias and Connecture.

About GrandCare Systems:

Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling individuals to remain safe, healthy and happy at home. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything seems amiss (medications not accessed, glucose levels not taken, abnormal activity, etc.).

For more information: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147

PR Contact:
Laura Mitchell
media@grandcare.com
262-338-6147

GrandCare’s White Paper featured in recent article from homecaretechreport.com

Can Technology Reverse the Rise of Hospital Readmissions?

Barely two years ago, USA Today reported that 1 in 5 Medicare patients were readmitted to the hospital within just one month of discharge. While some readmissions are unavoidable, the article reported that, in 2004, a shocking $17.4 billion of the $102.6 billion that Medicare paid to hospitals went towards unplanned hospital readmission visits.1 Only 10% of 2009 readmissions were planned.

CBS News reported on the profits earned by extending life by a few days, an already high expense that, if uncontrolled, will rise dramatically as the U.S. population ages. According to a 2009 60 minutes report, 75% of Americans die in a hospital; in 2008, Medicare paid $50 billion for patient care during the final two months of life.2

Fierce Healthcare took it a step further. Citing medication non-adherence as the leading cause of hospital readmissions,3 the online magazine reported that noncompliance costs up to $250 – $300 billion per year in ER and readmission visits.

But medication non-adherence may not be the primary cause. It may itself be caused by an all-too-common practice, sending the patient home with a lack of resources and support for independent recovery. According to a new White Paper by Laura Mitchell of GrandCare Systems, there are six common reasons for hospital readmission and specific technologies that can counteract them.

  1. Miscommunication between doctors, staff, patients, caregivers, families at discharge.
  2. Unclear or inappropriate instructions from hospital discharge staff regarding diet, mobility, medication and general care.
  3. Lack of social interaction and support once home. (30% of the 65+ population and 40% of those with chronic disease live alone.)4
  4. Misunderstanding of “Red Flag” symptoms that signal likely return to the hospital.
  5. Limited resources, lack of transportation and no accompanying advocate.
  6. Lack of supervision at home and resulting noncompliance.

Every home care clinician knows someone like Betty
Meet Betty. In 2008, Betty was admitted to the hospital for an infection in her foot that had affected her kidneys. After 5 days in the hospital undergoing tests and treatment, she was released and given many new rules, diet changes, strength training exercises, as well as a strict medication regimen prescribed by multiple healthcare providers. Betty left the hospital confused and loaded with new responsibilities and lifestyle changes. The pressure and stress of her new routine ultimately led her back into the same hospital bed just twenty days later. This is not an unusual occurrence. In Betty’ case, it was most likely a completely preventable readmission. Betty lacked a clear sense of direction, support and encouragement. She was expected to change her entire life within days without essential resources or available technologies.

The technology solution
To mitigate the turmoil of post-hospital transition, patients and their caregivers need to be equipped with education and resources to make good decisions. Forward-thinking business leaders, care providers, technology innovators, and other change agents are using technology to assist patients, especially seniors and the disabled.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) or tele-monitoring technologies and telehealth devices provide an unobtrusive method for reporting the patient’s vital signs including blood pressure and weight; biometric data including pulse oximetry and blood glucose levels; and subjective data including disease signs and symptoms, medication, and/or diet compliance. With the safe haven created by in-home technologies, patients are able to feel safe while maintaining their independence.

Remote Patient Monitoring systems to improve patient outcomes, encourage patient self-management and reduce avoidable readmissions, long discussed in healthcare journals, are making their way into finance and investing publications. GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell quotes a stock market analyst writing inMobi Health News Report, to make her point.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is minimizing hospital stays, resulting in a reduction of the cost of healthcare delivery. RPM helps healthcare centers reduce costs and increase business opportunities for healthcare service providers, while integrating systems and providing necessary operational facilities. As a result, the Patient Monitoring Systems market stands to gain.5

Supporting Mobi Health News Report’s position, healthcare researcher Jenny Minott of Academy Health, writes in her report Reducing Hospital Readmissions, “Tele-monitoring high-risk patients alone has decreased readmissions by 15 percent.”6

CMS may not believe, but its sister department does
Studies of significance by the Veterans Health Administration have reported even larger reductions in hospital utilization through the use of in-home remote monitoring technologies. The VHA reports that it “delivers healthcare services that serve 5.6 million unique veteran patients annually. A total of 7.6 million veterans are enrolled to receive VHA care. The number of veteran patients aged 85 years or more that VHA treats is set to triple by 2011 compared to 2000. As the U.S. population ages, people are living longer, staying healthier, and choosing to live independently at home.”7

Next weekOur next excerpt from Laura Mitchell’s white paper will describe a care approach that integrates wellness, smart home systems, activity monitoring and social connectivity to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions.

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1Information cited from the article “One in Five Medicare Patients Readmitted within month” from USATODAY.comhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-02-hospital-medicare_N.htm

2http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/19/60minutes/main5711689.html

3Study shows that 40% of seniors do not comply with doctors’ orders. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-the-Literature/2007/Feb/Physician-Patient-Communication-About-Prescription-Medication-Nonadherence–A-50-State-Study-of-Amer.aspx

4http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/aging_statistics/Profile/2010/docs/2010profile.pdf

5Mobi Health News Report: Patient Monitoring worth $9.3 billion in 2014 http://mobihealthnews.com/10969/report-patient-monitoring-worth-9-3-billion-in-2014

6http://www.academyhealth.org/files/publications/Reducing_Hospital_Readmissions.pdf

72008 VA telehealth study: http://www.viterion.com/web_docs/VA%20CCS%20Outcomes%20Dec_2008_Darkins.pdf

About GrandCare
GrandCare offers a senior friendly, internet enabled, private home touch screen system aimed at maintaining independence, controlling chronic conditions, and reducing hospital readmissions. It combines the technologies of smart home, activity monitoring, wellness monitoring, and social connectivity. The wellness aspect includes wireless physiological readings (weight, blood pressure, oximeter, glucometer), self assessment, and medication compliance with associated rule sets, alerts, and congregate analytics. The social aspect includes one button Skype, wellness videos, reminders, and other standard social media content aimed at reducing isolation, educating the patient, and influencing them to better self manage their health.
grandcare.com