Penn Medicine’s Penn Care at Home program reported a 53 percent reduction in 30-day readmission rates for 130 congestive heart failure patients since implementing software from Health Recovery Solutions. Readmission rates dropped from 8 percent to 3.8 percent over a period from July 2014 to February 2015.


The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) released the results of the 2015 HIMSS Mobile Technology Survey. This year’s study, of more than 200 healthcare provider employees, found that nearly 90 percent of respondents are utilizing mobile devices within their organizations to engage patients in their healthcare. The report also showed that respondents believe that mobile health (mHealth) technologies are beginning to drive cost savings and improve the quality of care delivered.
 

On April 17, 2015 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update fiscal year (FY) 2016 Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS). The proposed rule, which would apply to approximately 3,400 acute care hospitals and approximately 435 LTCHs, would affect discharges occurring on or after Oct. 1, 2015.

EBR Systems Inc. announced it has raised $20 million for clinical studies and regulatory filings, including commitments toward a second quarter closing. EBR Systems is using the funds to build on promising European clinical work; obtain CE Mark for the company’s proprietary wireless pacing system; obtain approval for a U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study; and complete development of its second generation system that is smaller and more energy efficient.


The latest advances in echocardiography were discussed at a special evening symposium at the 2015 American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting, organized by Methodist Debakey Heart and Vascular Center. 

Cerner Corp. and Qualcomm Life Inc. announced an agreement to extend Cerner’s medical device connectivity capabilities beyond the hospital to the home. Cerner will leverage Qualcomm Life’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-listed 2net Platform and Hub to capture data from medical devices and sensors within a patient’s home, and transmit it to Cerner healthcare clients through Cerner’s CareAware device connectivity platform. Through this initiative, care providers can remotely monitor chronically ill patients in near-real time to enable proactive engagement to potentially reduce the risk of an acute care episode.

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