Medical Economics February 5, 2019
Next generation medical wearables are facilitating the shift to a value-based care system, moving the point of care to the patient’s home while allowing doctors to monitor the patient’s condition through continuous, real-time data. Today’s healthcare system is dominated by a curative approach to medicine that prioritizes an acute, hospital-oriented mindset over one that recognizes long-term, continuing sickness. And yet, chronic conditions now account for more than half of all deaths in the nation and take up more than 85 percent of annual healthcare expenditures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A report from the Rand Corporation found that patients who have chronic conditions generally have worse health outcomes, higher hospital readmission rates, and incur more healthcare...