An independent study has shown that remote monitoring of care home residents can significantly reduce unplanned hospital admissions.
Funded by Health Data Research UK, the national institute for health data science, it was carried out by teams from the universities of Sheffield, Durham, Lancaster and Newcastle.
It has linked electronic data from monitoring technology – notably Digital Care Home from the NHS owned company Health Call – to NHS records to analyse patient journeys and outcomes. Over three years it evaluated outcomes from 8,702 residents of 118 care homes, examining the impact of the technology on attendance at emergency departments, hospital admissions and readmissions.
Key findings from the study included that there was an 11% reduction in emergency department attendances, and a 25% decrease in emergency care admissions.
There was also a 29% reduction in readmissions within 28 days, and an 11% fall in the length of stays from emergency admissions, with a further month-by-month decrease of 28%.
In addition, the analysis showed financial benefits equivalent to £113 per resident in 2021.
Innovative element
Suzanne Manson, principal investigator for the study in the University of Sheffield team, said: “This study was innovative in being able to link data from care homes through the HealthCall technology to hospital attendances and admissions.
“This has enabled us to gain these new insights demonstrating the benefits for residents and the wider healthcare system of using new digital technologies to support care delivery and reduce avoidable hospital attendances and admissions.”
Health Call’s managing director, Ian Dove, said: “By integrating digital technology into care homes, we are witnessing a tangible reduction in unplanned hospital admissions, helping patients to access the right care first time, ultimately improving the quality of care for residents."
