VNSNY To Present Patient Outcome Results From AMC Health Telehealth Program At WEDI Fall Conference

Session details how telehealth technology improves outcomes among CHF, COPD and diabetes patients

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York's (VNSNY) use of telehealth technology from AMC Health is delivering significant improvements in care coordination and outcomes among the chronically ill. These outcomes will be detailed in the session "Patient-Centered Design, Customer and Patient Outcomes" presented by Alice Rainford-Miller, Telehealth Program Manager at VNSNY; Jonathan Shankman, Senior Vice President, Clinical Innovation at AMC Health; and Alison Thebado, Vice President, Account Management at AMC Health at theWEDI Fall Conference (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange), at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Va. on Wednesday, Oct. 22nd at 3:00 p.m.

Although the U.S. healthcare system has started to transition toward a more patient-centered approach, most patients and providers must still navigate a fragmented system where care is often duplicated, provided too late and delivered in the hospital - the most expensive and potentially most dangerous care setting. The joint VNSNY/AMC Health program has demonstrated impressive progress in resolving these issues.

The presentation will share details about the motivations, challenges, results and lessons learned from VNSNY's tailored biometric monitoring and automatic symptom capture programs for at-risk patients discharged with congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart attacks and diabetes and their 90-day bundled payment initiative for CHF patients.

The educational session will outline the principles of successful care coordination and how AMC Health's unique telehealth solution helps overcome barriers for improving care, such as ensuring that patient data is readily available across clinical boundaries in an easy-to-understand, actionable format. It will then explain how AMC Health's real-time patient management solutions provide visibility into each patient's health status so they can be connected with the right care in the right place at the right time to prevent or mitigate illness or adverse events. This discussion will explain how incorporating real-time biometric and self-reported data from home helped significantly reduce readmissions, dramatically increase efficiencies, improve physician engagement and facilitate the development of specialty products for new markets.

VNSNY and AMC Health will share several real-world telehealth success stories and lessons learned - in particular the need to act on data when it is presented and the importance of building a telehealth program to fit clinician workflows. The presenters will also provide a look into telehealth's exciting future.

"At AMC Health, we are developing a body of rigorous, peer-reviewed research proving the effectiveness of our patient management solutions. Partnering with top-tier organizations like VNSNY over the last 12 years has demonstrated the significant value that evidence-based telehealth programs can provide across care settings, disease states and patient populations," said AMC Health's Jonathan Shankman. "This presentation shows that incorporating proven telehealth technology as part of a well-designed care plan allows the entire care team to stay on top of trends between clinician visits so they can alter treatment or create early interventions that help improve outcomes and reduce the spiraling cost of care."

About The Visiting Nurse Service of New York
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York is the largest not-for-profit home health care organization in the nation. In 2007, the organization provided 2,248,000 professional home visits covering everything from pre-natal to end-of-life care to more than 131,600 patients throughout New York City, Westchester and Nassau Counties. Licensed by the New York State Department of Health, VNSNY is fully accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) of the National League for Nursing. For more information, visit www.vnsny.com.

About AMC Health
AMC Health is a leading provider of customized, scalable, cost-effective "real-time" patient management solutions that assist organizations serving at-risk populations or that conduct clinical trials. Its patient engagement, health monitoring and care coordination solutions have been proven in several studies published in peer-reviewed journals to improve patient outcomes and quality of care, and reduce overall healthcare costs. AMC Health is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.amchealth.com.