Situation:
74 year-old male patient called provider complaining of shortness of breath, weight gain, and swollen legs; he has been admitted with similar symptoms four (4) times in the past 18 months. While well cared for at home, patient admits to eating poorly and drinking alcohol regularly. Patient also admits to forgetting which pills to take and when.
Case Summary:
Typical treatment is a 3 day inpatient stay with lasix titration and regular labs. Cost is $9,000. StatPoint conducts 3 home visits for $1,300. Savings $7,700, ROI = 5.9x.
StatPoint RN performed an assessment, med rec, and discussed with provider via video. Lasix was ordered as well as lab work. IV Lasix administered, and lab specimens were taken directly to the hospital lab for rapid analysis.
Lab results supported continued treatment at home. At a later afternoon visit, another dose of IV lasix was administered and patient reported feeling better. StatPoint RN also provided a 7 day am/pm pill organizer and helped patient organize medications.
At 3rd visit the next morning, patient reported losing weight and feeling much better. More labs were drawn and taken to the hospital laboratory. Lab results, clinical assessments, and weight loss supported patient returning to regular home treatment.
Discussion:
Primary care providers, and even most specialists, are not equipped to handle rapidly worsening symptoms remotely, especially without clinical evaluation or lab results. The ability to deploy a skilled RN and get diagnostic information quickly can enable providers to care for these otherwise hospital-worthy cases relatively simply.
