Health IT improves quality, lowers costs for chronically ill

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research has concluded that health IT can boost the quality of care received by chronically ill patients while lowering the cost of that care. Not only that, but health IT use improves outcomes, researchers found.

Right now, chronic illnesses affect 90 million Americans, who suffer from one or more conditions causing seven out of every 10 deaths. Almost all of the growth in Medicare spending can be attributed to people with multiple chronic illnesses, the agency noted.

To help address this issue, AHRQ has given out $260 million in contracts and grants designed to foster health IT adoption since 2004. One project it profiled in the report found that remote monitoring of patients with congestive heart failure cut unnecessary hospitalization and trips to the emergency department.

Another, which paid doctors for answering patients' secure electronic messages, found that such messaging can cut the need for office visits, lowering transportation costs and visit fees.

The question, now, is when will private payers do more to pay for such treatments? Right now, few providers offer them because insurance companies don't reimburse for telemedicine. Payers, care to weigh in here?

To learn more about the report:
- read this Healthcare IT News article

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