Q: Can you tell us about your company and the challenges you are solving within the remote monitoring space?

A: What happens outside of medical office or telehealth appointments plays a vital role in healthcare outcomes. Carium’s virtual care platform empowers patients and their caregivers while providing their trusted clinicians with real-time, aggregated health data and analytics that can scale to multiple clinical programs. 

There is no shortage of data in healthcare and that is only going to increase as technologies evolve. The challenge is what to do with that generated data–it isn’t helpful if it just sits in a digital file pile. Carium is focused on making data relevant and actionable. Our technology continuously applies numerous algorithms and rules as it analyzes each person’s data.This ongoing analysis translates data into actionable information for both patients and providers, including reminders, education, to-dos and alerts.

A second challenge in healthcare is related to the appointment itself. Most episodic appointments consist of routine data collection, such as blood pressure and answering “current state” questionnaires. With Carium, health systems and practices are prepared with relevant data generated directly from a patient’s real life. Our goal is for care teams to use Carium to inform, connect and personalize patient care, so that appointments become mindful conversations instead of medical interrogations.

Q: How does your company differentiate from other remote monitoring vendors?

A: First, we have high rates of patient engagement. Across our client base and clinical program mix, Carium’s patient engagement rates trend upwards from 87 to 90 percent across both short and long-term clinical programs. Reasons for high engagement include ease of use, intuitive interface, relevant content, better peace of mind, and inherent interactivity.

Second, we’re disease and program-agnostic. Many existing digital health solutions in the market today target niche conditions, creating data and care silos that further fragment patient and provider experiences. A solution that can scale across multiple clinical programs and use cases enables patients and care teams to manage their health in a unified, collaborative manner through a single experience and interface.

Carium is also device-agnostic. Some vendors require dedicated smartphones and wearables specific to their technology and use case. Solutions that are device-agnostic and downloaded directly to a patient’s smartphone can be used securely, efficiently and easily. It’s also important to have options for patients who don’t already have a smart device or who prefer a device dedicated to use for remote monitoring.

Third, we offer high-level customer and patient support. Depending on patient and care team preferences, it’s important to have different resources to ensure the experience is easy and seamless. Some may prefer do-it-yourself resources to assist with troubleshooting, like articles and videos, and others may prefer to talk to a support team. A technical support team that is committed to approaching every support call and email with compassion, respect and expertise is crucial to a great experience.

And lastly, we support our customers as they market Carium to patients, because we’ve learned that recruiting and onboarding patients can be a barrier to getting them started with new virtual care programs. We consult with our clients on marketing strategy, share templates with key messaging to help clients communicate the benefits of Carium, and offer customizable digital and print patient-facing materials.

Q: What are some of the biggest changes your company has seen around how health systems are approaching remote monitoring since 2020?

A: The pivot occurring in healthcare right now is a chance for everyone to rethink old approaches and seize the opportunity to pursue new directions. The future of healthcare will rely on proactive, real-time engagement that helps each individual maintain good health and wellbeing, rather than scramble to recover after health problems escalate. Goals like that can only be achieved when patients and care teams work together seamlessly. 

People want to connect to their care teams, but care teams are overwhelmed and need better ways to connect to patients. Tools that create an inviting experience for both the patient and care team will open doors to new possibilities by meeting user expectations and desires. Platforms designed with those goals in mind will drive a new model of engagement.

We’re also continuing to see expansion of virtual care and remote monitoring after successful pilots. One health system partner was using our platform for lifestyle medicine, and has since added remote monitoring to their health coaching and employee wellness programs. Another health system, which originally started with perioperative care, has expanded to hypertension, weight management, hospital-at-home and stroke care.

Q: What does an ideal client look like? How are health systems best organized for success in remote monitoring?

A: An ideal client is one who understands that technology, when utilized correctly, can be a tremendous asset to a practice or system, both operationally and clinically. There are still some in healthcare who resist technology, due at least in part to current, expensive platforms that have not lived up to expectations. Others are simply concerned that technology dehumanizes healthcare. In our experience, when healthcare lets technology do what it does best–repetitive data collection, aggregation and analysis–then humans and care teams can devote more time to making impactful connections with patients. 

Carium is deployed in a variety of healthcare settings, including large health systems and hospitals, care management programs, primary care practices and community health centers. Health systems in particular provide care-at-scale for diverse populations that struggle to manage chronic conditions and may face barriers such as lack of transportation, no paid time off or other factors. These health systems can utilize our platform to effectively work around these barriers to provide cost-effective, high-quality care. 

Health systems are dynamic and complex entities. The health systems we serve appreciate flexible platforms that scale across multiple clinical programs and use cases and eliminate isolated care silos. With the right solutions, care teams are better positioned to manage complex and chronic conditions. One of our health system clients has observed a 50 percent reduction in hospital readmissions within their cardiac perioperative program due to engaged use of the Carium platform within their patient population.

Q: What measurable outcomes have you seen from your clients who have prioritized remote monitoring?

A: When care teams actively use Carium to facilitate connected care, they consistently see 50 percent reductions in hospital readmissions and ED visits and about 20 percent reductions in length-of-stay. We see these kinds of numbers most frequently in peri-procedural, hospital-at-home and population health clinical programs.

Customers are also observing improved clinical outcomes, such as an average 18-point reduction in systolic blood pressure within patient populations who are engaging with Carium as part of their care plans. Within a bariatric and weight management program offered by one of our health systems, 80.8 percent of their patients saw a decrease in weight since joining, excluding weight loss as a result of bariatric surgery.

Q: What major functional enhancements and/or product investments are you making in the near term to keep up with the evolution of remote monitoring?

A: Carium employs an agile development approach and relies primarily on feedback from our customers and patients to determine our direction, along with industry trends. For 2022, we’re focused on the following themes for further development related to the patient and care team experience:

• Enhancing our connected device portfolio

• Extending support for patients who do not have access to smartphones or are hesitant or unable to interact with an installed mobile application to drive equitable access to care

• Improving our tools for providers to document and report the delivery of care

• Expanding our standard base of EMR integrations and default capabilities

Q: How is your company partnering with clients as reimbursements and use cases shift?

A: There’s been some real progress with regards to reimbursement opportunities for virtual care delivery, and there’s still room for change in this area as the technology continues to evolve. Carium supports remote patient monitoring, chronic care management, principle care management, remote therapeutic management and hospital at home, all of which are eligible for reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We’re proud to offer a platform with the flexibility to accommodate different programs as reimbursement continues to change and expand.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities health systems should be thinking about this year when it comes to remote monitoring?

1. Improving care for patients with chronic conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that six in 10 U.S. adults have a chronic condition like heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes. Wearable devices and remote monitoring tools can be used to gather data and connect with patients with chronic conditions in a way that wasn’t possible before. Real-time engagement tightens the feedback loop to support each patient when they need it most. Interventions at the right time are driving better outcomes.

2. Moving less acute care to a virtual care setting with hospital at home. Leveraging virtual care and remote monitoring for pre-and-post-surgical visits helps reduce readmissions while still giving patients access to their care teams for questions and concerns. Meanwhile, care teams can spot issues that can lead to deterioration, reduce complications and control costs. We’re also seeing hospital at home programs offer greater comfort and better outcomes for patients while freeing up hospital capacity. 

3. Providing virtual access to specialists in rural communities. In rural communities or other areas where clinician shortages exist, telehealth enhances equity by opening the door of access to specialists, eliminating travel times for in-person appointments and closing gaps in access to care for vulnerable populations.

Q: How do you see remote monitoring evolving in 2022 and beyond?

A: The adoption of virtual care in rural areas continues to lag behind urban areas and the White House has signaled that this will be a top priority for 2022 and beyond. In rural communities or other areas where clinician shortages exist, telehealth promotes equity by enhancing access to specialists, eliminating travel barriers and closing access gaps for at-risk populations. 

Another opportunity for improvement lies in recognizing that the practice of virtual care delivery requires processes, skills and approaches that may differ from traditional in-person clinical interactions. Though health systems realize the value of remote monitoring, many are struggling to see the desired momentum and results in patient recruitment, care team utilization and overall program management. To engage patients and build trust, clinicians have to demonstrate how the technology can extend the care teams’ capability to monitor, assess, alert and support patients in real time within their daily lives. There is also a need to build “virtual bedside manner” skills so that digital communications convey warmth, empathy, understanding and clarity. Finally, change management must be an integral part of the operational process so that adoption and embedded utilization is seamless, comprehensive and rewarding.

A hybrid model that balances virtual and in-person care based on patient preference and medical necessity is the future of healthcare. The goal of this model is to communicate efficiently with patients while improving outcomes, reducing costs, avoiding unnecessary travel and easing hospital capacity. The end result will be a new continuum of care that delivers care at the right time and place.