Patient Education Extends Value-Based Care to 9 Million in TeleHealth Services/UbiCare Partnership

BOSTON & RALEIGH, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hospitals have long been defined by their number of beds. As healthcare
shifts its focus to value-based care, hospitals must now take a
patient-centered care approach, effectively counting “heads not beds.”

The recent partnership between TeleHealth
Services and UbiCare
(announced
in December) impacts 9 million of those heads with the new Tigr@Home
patient engagement solution that provides condition-specific education
care plans from pre-op through discharge.

“With bundled payment plans becoming the norm, hospitals must manage a
patient’s episode of care rather than just the time spent in the
hospital,” said UbiCare CEO Betsy Weaver. “That includes setting patient
expectations and sharing reliable healthcare information with them
—creating a better patient experience.”

In fact, setting patient expectations is proven to engage patients in
managing their own care and avoiding complications and readmissions, in
turn driving down the overall cost of healthcare.

Boston University’s Project
RED (Re-Engineered Discharge) found that patient education helped
hospitals reduce readmissions up to 40 percent. Another well-known study
by Dr. Judith Hibbard out of the University of Oregon found that
activated patients have care costs 21 percent lower in the year after
surgery compared to patients with low levels of engagement.

Tigr@Home kicked off with service for two of the most critical patient
populations: new and expectant parents and joint replacement surgery
patients.

“Tigr@Home is an effective and efficient way to extend vital care and
recovery information across the continuum of care,” said Dan Nathan,
president of TeleHealth Services. “We are excited to expand the success
of our interactive patient engagement systems to the home and post-acute
facilities. These new tools will allow hospitals to provide more
meaningful use of their patient portal investments, while allowing their
patients access to dynamic, personalized care plans in additional
settings to increase the efficacy of their care.”

Why new and expectant parents? Women are often referred to as the
“Chief Medical Officers” of their homes. They handle
80 percent of healthcare decisions and set the tone for health in
their families. Hospitals need to improve the patient experience during
pregnancy and childbirth especially, as improving patient satisfaction
and HCAHPS scores play a greater role in hospital reimbursements.

An independent Deloitte study of military families receiving digital
education about pregnancy and child care found that these
patient-provider communications resulted in:

• 84 percent take better care of their families,
• 76 percent take better care of themselves, and
• 74 percent have better connections with their hospitals.

Why joint replacement surgery patients? CMS’s Comprehensive Care
for Joint Replacement (CJR) initiative (beginning April 1 in 790
hospitals) has set the expectation that hospitals focus on reducing
readmissions and keeping patients satisfied while they manage the entire
episode of care.

“Reaching beyond the hospital walls — both pre-operatively and
throughout recovery — hospitals will be well-prepared for succeeding
with Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement and other bundled
payment programs and value-based care initiatives,” said Weaver.

Beginning with these primary populations, Tigr@Home enables hospitals to
seamlessly activate patients and improve their experience and
satisfaction.

Learn
more about the partnership online.

About UbiCare

UbiCare, an award-winning digital healthcare communications and
technology company, creates connections that make us all better.

By building and sustaining effective patient/provider relationships
throughout the care continuum, UbiCare reduces unnecessary healthcare
costs by up to 30 percent. UbiCare messaging series essentially turn
hospitals and health systems into patient-centered innovators, educating
patients and improving satisfaction.

UbiCare earned a Dun & Bradstreet customer-service rating of 93 percent.
Clients include Texas Health Resources, Boston Children’s Hospital and
the Department of Defense. For more information, visit www.ubicare.com.

About TeleHealth Services

With more than 2,500 healthcare clients across the country, TeleHealth
Services is the nation’s leading provider of integrated technology and
communications solutions for the healthcare market. Combining 50+ years
of healthcare expertise and partnerships with industry-leading
manufacturers, TeleHealth Services is uniquely positioned to offer a
full suite of hospital technology solutions that includes:

• Interactive
  patient and staff education platforms
• Healthcare
  grade televisions and accessories
• Bedside
  patient entertainment solutions
• The
  latest educational and entertainment content
• Comprehensive
  design, implementation, and service packages
• Flexible
  financing solutions
• Complete
  healthcare audio visual solutions

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., TeleHealth Services is a division of
Telerent Leasing Corporation. Telerent, founded in 1957, operates as a
subsidiary of ITOCHU International, Inc. For more information on
TeleHealth, call 877-432-9076, or visit http://www.telehealth.com/.

Disclaimer: UbiCare SmarteXp 3.0.1 is an ONC Certified Modular EHR
for Patient Specific Education Resources for Ambulatory and Inpatient
Settings — Meaningful Use 2014 Edition. UbiCare SmarteXp 3.0.1 was
certified under the vendor name TPR Media LLC (dba UbiCare) on December
23, 2014 by InfoGard. CMS EHR Certification IDs: IG-3230-14-0081 and
IG-3230-14-0107. Certification Criteria: 170.314(a)(15), (g)(1), (g)(4).
View the EHR test reports online at http://impremedia-network.go-vip.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/02/14-3230-r-0072-pra_v1.0_tpr_media_ptr.pdf
and http://impremedia-network.go-vip.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/02/14-3230-r-0072-pri_v1.0_tpr_media_ptr.pdf.

This EHR Module is 2014 Edition compliant and has been certified by
an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria
adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This
certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive
payments.

Contacts

TeleHealth Services
Matthew K. Barker, 919-719-7031
Vice
President of Marketing
matt.barker@telehealth.com