Mobile integrated health models cut costs and improve care

Producers are always on the lookout for novel ways to provide high-quality care at a cost-effective rate. One such solution involves mobile integrated health (MIH), a patient-centered model conducted outside the boundaries of a traditional hospital campus that integrates in-person and digital resources.

This emerging care-delivery platform — which offers resource coordination among hospitals, first-responders, providers and insurance companies — signifies the union between healthcare delivery and the rise of integrated digital care.

While focusing on improvements in community care, MIH aims to help patients receive the proper care they need in the right location, including providing them with needed assistance and self-care in their homes. 

MIH presents a workable solution, integrating technology and communication tools to help meet this growing need. Effectively implemented, it can provide a deeper level of patient diagnosis and treatment, help contain costs and improve a patient's overall care experience. Additional MIH benefits include:

Reducing unnecessary emergency room visits
ERs are habitually congested and stretched thin on resources. Preferably, ER visits are reserved for severe and urgent cases, often life-threatening, that require immediate attention during a crisis. Unfortunately, reports show that roughly 30% of ER visits are for common chronic ailments, likely unnecessary, adding an estimated additional $8.3 billion in costs for the healthcare industry. Through MIH, patients can receive an appropriate evaluation and care in a timely manner in the home instead of congesting ER waiting rooms. 

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 Decreasing hospital readmissions
Those who suffer from chronic conditions or are discharged from a hospital upon surgery can benefit from care coordination delivered through MIH. Services range from follow-up visits to assistance with prescription fulfillment, or mobile health visits to ensure proper transition of care to avoid a return hospital visit.  

 Protecting resources and saving time
Healthcare providers are committed to their patients' best outcomes, but time is not an unlimited resource. MIH allows emergency medical services to be streamlined, giving EMTs and paramedics the communication tools needed to make evaluations, direct resources and, of course, save lives. 

MIH is a model and delivery system that emphasizes teamwork across the healthcare ecosystem. When the channels of communication are spread out and disjointed, the patient can suffer because of lack of coordination.  

But when an integrated healthcare model is utilized, multiple aspects of patient care are combined. Points of care involving referrals to specialists or consultation services, as well as connecting patients to supplemental services such as lab testing and imaging, can be completed without the patient having to step foot into a healthcare facility. The result is a holistic approach to patient care in which less information is lost in translation. 

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Applied and implemented over time, MIH solutions can offer a wide range of benefits to patients and providers. They can assist with increasing access to routine medical services and check-ins, address behavioral health issues and provide medical professionals with more flexibility in treating patients. In addition to expanding in-home healthcare abilities, MIH solutions can help reduce mounting stress on the nation's emergency services – conserving substantial capital and resources while improving outcomes. 

 MIH solutions are poised to evolve and play an increased and essential role in supporting community healthcare outreach. From connecting physicians to paramedics during an emergency or reminding a patient suffering from a chronic condition to schedule a virtual appointment, these integrated health solutions lay the foundation to bring in a new system focused on improved efficiencies, lower costs, and a structure that connects, engages and empowers patients to improve their health.