SAN DIEGO (February 3, 2016) A study showing significant, measurable efficiency gains when using the automated messaging capabilities of ResMed’s U-Sleep patient management solution was published this month in Sleep and Breathing, international journal of the science and practice of sleep medicine.
The study revealed a 59 percent reduction in labor associated with intervention and coaching patients on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy when using U-Sleep. A secure and flexible compliance solution, ResMed’s U-Sleep monitors CPAP device usage and helps home medical equipment providers (HMEs) coach and manage their patients during therapy.
“HMEs are under pressure to keep patients on therapy and improve compliance, while simultaneously reducing costs. These study findings show that automated coaching can help significantly,” said Raj Sodhi, President of ResMed’s Healthcare Informatics Global Business Unit. “With more than 1.3 million connected devices, ResMed is committed to easing this burden on our HME customers as we work together to keep our patients healthy.”
The goal of the study was to compare the effectiveness and coaching labor requirements of a web-based, automated messaging (via U-Sleep) with standard-of-care CPAP adherence coaching, and measure the coaching labor necessary to achieve Medicare-defined adherence.
In order to evaluate the effect of automated messaging on coaching labor and patient adherence, researchers conducted a multi-center, prospective trial of patients newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. A total of 122 patients completed the three-month study follow-up, with 58 in the U-Sleep arm and 64 in the standard-of-care arm. All patients were set up on a CPAP device with heated humidification and a ResMed wireless modem, and both groups received identical CPAP education and orientation.
The U-Sleep arm received an automated series of text messages and/or emails triggered by one of five situations that indicated non-compliance, such as No CPAP data for two consecutive days or CPAP usage of less than four hours for three consecutive nights. In contrast, the standard-of-care arm received scheduled telephone calls on days one, seven, 14, and 30.
Reducing Labor while Increasing Compliance
The results of the study reveal a significant reduction in the mean number of minutes of adherence coaching required per patient for the U-Sleep arm, equating to a 59 percent reduction in labor. In addition, there was an observed difference of +10 percent in Medicare-defined adherence for the U-Sleep group (83 vs. 73 percent). Medicare-defined adherence is the documented use of CPAP therapy for at least four hours per night for 70 percent or more nights during a consecutive 30-day period within the first 90 days of therapy.
As the number of people using CPAP therapy to treat sleep apnea increases, the ability to efficiently and effectively monitor and manage CPAP therapy becomes a critical aspect of healthcare.
“HMEs need support as they scale to meet the needs of growing patient bases,” said Sodhi. “Automated messaging to keep patients on track has the potential to better HMEs’ bottom lines by helping them manage more patients without adding staff, while encouraging therapy adherence for optimal clinical results.”
For more information, the published study can be found here.
