Case Study: A Leading Health Insurance Provider

Samsung and eCaring Home Care SolutionReduces Hospitalizations, Enhances Quality of Care

Customer NeedOne of the nation’s leadingnot-for-profit health insuranceproviders offers preventative careand medical oversight for at-riskmembers with chronic diseases.Along with patient education androutine health screenings, this provideroffers home health as a service formany of its members. Seeking toenhance its home care services, theprovider looked for a system thatcould enable home health workersto capture previously inaccessiblein-home patient data and share it withcare managers to coordinate medicaltreatment and intervention.

Samsung SolutionThe provider began equipping homehealth aides with Samsung Galaxytablets that come loaded withcloud-based disease managementsoftware from eCaring. The softwareis customizable by population,condition, disease and individual. Byoffering eCaring’s icon-based systemon devices home care workers andconsumers are already familiar with,the solution is easy for individuals touse, regardless of their language ortechnical proficiency. Home healthaides can now track and report onpatients’ physical and emotional healthin real time, keeping care managersin the loop with actionable alerts theycan respond to quickly.

ResultsThe provider is already reporting noticeable benefits, including: seven prevented hospitalizations per month for an initial population of around 200; an easily manageable two alerts generated per member per month; faster response time to in-home problems; enhanced quality of care; increased efficiency; greater ability to meet new program demands; and an excellent customer satisfaction response from both home health aides and members.

Overview

“Without propercommunication,important symptomsmight go unnoticed, suchas blood pressure results,confusion, tiredness,sudden shortness ofbreath or inability to eat.”

— Care Manager

To ensure that chronically illmembers receive the best possiblecare, this leading health insuranceprovider takes a unique approachon disease prevention, patientmonitoring and care management.Along with patient education androutine health screenings, theprovider offers home health servicesfor many of its members.

When health aides visit members’homes, they capture a significantamount of healthcare data. Theobservations home health aidesrecord about patients can includemental and physical state, vitalsigns, critical behaviors andactivities, medications and plan ofcare adherence. This informationis then passed along to the caremanagers to inform each patient’scare plan.

Care managers review theinformation and coordinatenecessary interventions. One ofthe provider’s care managersfor over 20 years explains, “Atypical intervention might consistof calling and speaking with theaide or the member to determine

what is happening in the home.Depending on the situation, we callthe primary care provider to obtainan appointment, direct the aide toperform additional tasks, providepatient education or simply monitorthe member more closely.”

To determine the right course ofaction, care managers need anaccurate and complete pictureof each patient’s health. Caremanagers are responsible formany members and rely ondata from home health aides tomake good decisions. “Withoutproper communication, importantsymptoms might go unnoticed,such as blood pressure results,confusion, tiredness, suddenshortness of breath or inability toeat,” the care manager explained.

The provider sought a newtechnology solution to streamlinecommunications and ensure promptresponses to potential healththreats. The goals for this solutionwere to reduce unnecessaryemergency room visits anddecrease hospital readmissions.

The Customer Need:Better Home Care, Lower Costs

In April 2015, the provider beganequipping home health aides withSamsung Galaxy tablets loaded withcloud-based disease managementsoftware from eCaring. The softwareis customizable by population,condition, disease and individual.And by offering eCaring’s icon-basedsystem on devices consumers arealready familiar with, the solution iseasy for individuals to use, regardlessof their English proficiency ortechnical skills.

For the initial phase of the program,the provider trained 350 home healthaides to use eCaring. The tablets arekitted and deployed by SamsungBusiness Services. Home aides cannow track and report on patients’physical health, emotional well-beingand other key health factors in realtime, keeping care managers up todate with actionable alerts they canrespond to quickly.

Health aides have found the Galaxytablets to be an ideal device tosupport their in-home visits. Thetablets’ long battery life means aidesdo not need to stop to rechargethroughout the day. Their thin andlight design supports easy mobility,while they are durable enough towithstand on-the-go usage.

Pamela Hall, chief operating officerfor eCaring, says the partnershipwith Samsung has been a “perfectmatch.” As she explains, “Samsungtablets set the industry standard inproviding top-level customization andcontrol of hardware and softwarevia APIs, as well as a highly securearchitecture. Their proprietaryplatforms integrate seamlessly witheCaring’s technology, and Samsung’spartnership ecosystem intertwineswith other technology providers thateCaring leverages relationships with.As Samsung’s tablets are certifiedto communicate on a broad rangeof cellular networks, working withthem we are able to bring the benefitsof digital, Internet-based servicesto individuals without broadbandaccess.”

Hall also notes, “Samsung BusinessServices were especially appealingbecause they consolidate andoptimize the logistics involved ina successful large-scale devicedeployment, letting us focus ondeveloping and deploying our unique,patient-centered care and diseasemanagement software.”

Quick Profile: The Solution:Real-Time Data, Actionable Alerts

Display: 9.6” WXGA 1280x800 TFT Operating System: Android Lollipop 5.1.1 Processor: 1.2 GHz Quad Core Cameras: 5MP back/2MP front Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n and 4G LTE Security: KNOX 2.4; premium features require license fee

Samsung Galaxy Tab E

Learn more: samsung.com/healthcare | insights.samsung.com | 1-866-SAM4BIZ

Follow us: youtube.com/samsungbizusa | @SamsungBizUSA

©2016 Samsung Electronics America, Inc. All rights reserved. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. All products, logos and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Screen images simulated. This case study is for informational purposes only. Samsung makes no warranties, express or implied, in this case study.

CASEST-TAB-ECARING-MAR16J

The Results:Healthier Patients, Happy WorkersAlthough the solution has been in place for less than a year, the provider is already reporting noticeable benefits. These include:

• An average of seven prevented hospitalizations per month across a population of 200 to 250 patients, a reduction of roughly 30 percent

• Savings of approximately $3,000 per member annually

• An easily manageable two alerts generated per member per month

• Faster response time and enhanced quality of care

• Increased efficiency and ability to meet new and growing program demands and patient transitions

• Excellent customer satisfaction response from both home health aides and members

The provider’s care manager says, “There are many actionable alerts we receive; members complaining of pain level greater than six, confusion, falls, blood sugar or blood pressure outside of healthy parameters. We never previously had real-time data, but we now have a pair of eyes in the home and can get information on the member as soon as it happens. We can also longitudinally track the frequency of events.”

The platform also helps the care manager do her job more effectively. “It assists us in the management of our members and allows us an opportunity to intervene more rapidly on medical issues that may otherwise go unnoticed,” she explains. “eCaring and the Samsung tablets open the lines of communication and empower the aide to be a part of the member’s total care. It also enables aides to communicate with the healthcare team and have some feeling of responsibility for members and their health. And it lets us better educate patients about their own health management.”

“eCaring and the Samsung tablets open the lines of communication and empower the aide to be a part of the member’s total care.”

– Care Manager