Virtual care solutions can solve some challenges payers face by improving member care, managing rising healthcare costs, improving Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Star Ratings, increasing member engagement, and reducing hospital readmissions. Digital health solutions provide tools that enable payers to address concerns such as social determinants of health (SDOH) by improving access to care while minimizing costs. The benefits of these solutions extend beyond payers, however. Members also experience the benefits of virtual care solutions.

Hypertension is one of the most common chronic conditions. But only about 1 in 4 adults have their hypertension under control. This has a large impact on both those with hypertension and on payers as chronic conditions often require hospitalization and can be costly to treat, acting as a leading contributor to our nation’s $4.1 trillion in annual healthcare costs. Additionally, approximately 17.8 percent of individuals who were initially hospitalized for acute hypertensive emergency were hospitalized again within 30 days.

When it comes to virtual care opportunities for members with hypertension, it’s critical for solutions and programs to provide the experience, usability, and monitoring capabilities that members deserve. Because hypertension plays an aggressive role in the deaths of countless Americans each year, it’s important for payers and providers to be vigilant with care offerings that include sophisticated telecare monitoring capabilities.

For the millions of Americans suffering from hypertension, managing blood pressure is critical to reducing the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. To help those at risk, remote patient monitoring (RPM) offers the opportunity to equip patients with the necessary tools to manage their conditions from the familiarity of their own homes. At the same time, RPM empowers healthcare professionals with real-time data to monitor patients and proactively intervene when necessary. But can RPM technology actually reduce readmission rates for those with hypertension?