This article is the second in a four part series to demonstrate how Babyscripts can improve the bottom line for customers without sacrificing quality of care, patient safety, or provider experience.
[Did you miss Part I? Read it here]
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) approved billing codes for remote patient monitoring in 2018, and many commercial insurers implemented similar policies in 2020 to support health systems as they transitioned to virtual care during and post pandemic.
The monthly reimbursement rates for these CPT codes are higher than the monthly cost of Babyscripts, enabling health system users to achieve immediate ROI with deployment of Babyscripts’ monitoring solution. Additionally, Babyscripts facilitates subsidies through the health plan with our joint deployment model, opening another pathway for our provider clients to realize revenue through payers.
Remote patient monitoring can also improve visit attendance, avoiding the loss of revenue represented by an unused appointment slot. Most insurers do not reimburse for no-shows, and practices that implement no-shows fees are 1) faced with spending resources to follow up and attempt to collect fees, and 2) at risk of losing patients due to what may come off as inflexible and punitive policies.
RPM can improve visit attendance through increased patient engagement and improved access to care for patients who are at risk of being no-shows, a particular problem for the Medicaid population that is caused by barriers of access, inability to navigate the health system, and other social determinants of health. Use of Babyscripts has been shown to reduce the no-show rate in the prenatal period and improve adherence to postpartum visit attendance.
Risk detection through Babyscripts promotes optimal or "high-value" facility care. Through remote monitoring and improved communication, Babyscripts alerts physicians to problems in real-time, enabling them to direct their patients to the appropriate care response. This helps ensures appropriate use of services, and encourages patients to stay in-house for their care.
Keeping care in house is important for maintaining continuity of care, and simplifying data and record sharing. It also protects the patient from getting hit by higher costs for going out of network for OB triage. Physicians can call ahead or direct admission so the patient doesn't have to deal with ED waits, and then their OB can either see the patient directly or monitor their care and provide orders remotely.
Automation provides a more immediate example of cost savings. The simple efficiency of digitizing the traditional OB packet has demonstrated cost savings of up to 80%, not to mention the time saved in updating and assimilating thousands of packets per year.
[Babyscripts reduced print costs for a health system in Georgia. Download the case study here.]
Traditional health systems are facing threats from new entrants to the field -- direct to consumer models offering a hybrid of in-person and digital care. Digital offerings have become a standard expectation for patients, and they are an important part of a health system’s strategy to differentiate themselves from the competition as well as attract new patients and retain current patients.
As a time of increased interaction and engagement with a health system and healthcare providers, pregnancy is an ideal time to attract new patients to a practice and cement brand loyalty. As women typically make the majority of healthcare decisions for their families, capturing their loyalty in the maternity period can mean long term business for other service lines — most immediately, pediatrics. Setting patients on a care pathway through Babyscripts can encourage women to keep their care within the health system, facilitating in-network referrals for well-baby visits and other non-maternity needs.
This is Part 2 of a continuing series on Achieving ROI through Babyscripts. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss Part 3!