Patienthub Linked To Improved Clinical Outcomes | FMCNA
Use of Remote Treatment Monitoring in Peritoneal Dialysis Associates with Fewer Hospital Admissions and Less Technique Failure
WALTHAM, Mass. – Feb. 18, 2020 – Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading provider of kidney care products and services, today announced a peer-reviewed study published in Kidney360 that found remote treatment monitoring (RTM) of home dialysis patients using the PatientHub associates with significant short- and long-term improvements in clinical outcomes. Kidney360 is a newly launched online journal from the American Society of Nephrology.
The retrospective analysis of more than 6,000 patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) provides insights from the largest national sample evaluated to date using a connected health platform. The results indicate RTM associates with fewer hospital admissions, a shorter hospital length of stay, and less technique failure, findings which may be driven by increased oversight of PD treatments and clinical presentations, and more timely interventions to prevent complications.
“We are excited to see evidence that remote monitoring has an important role in improving patient outcomes and success with home treatment,” said Dr. Dinesh Chatoth, a co-author of the study and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Fresenius Kidney Care focusing on home therapies. “This technology is helping our care teams to better engage and treat patients, as well as helping patients successfully stay on their PD modality longer.”
By using PatientHub, all home dialysis patients who have access to the internet can review their laboratory results, view concomitant medications, and place supply orders, as well as document their daily treatment data, vital signs, and complications. For this analysis, patients who entered more than 15 treatments in the first 30 days after registration were considered frequent users. PD patients frequently using the RTM application between 2016 and 2019 were shown to have a 26% lower incidence rate of hospital admission and a 27% lower technique failure rate after 12 months of follow-up, as compared to nonusers.
In October 2019, FMCNA announced its full rollout of TheHub connected health platform that integrated three separate components including PatientHub. The platform enables patients, care teams, and providers to better collaborate and monitor patient treatments. TheHub further enhances the company’s remote monitoring capabilities for patients on home dialysis encompassing all home modalities and technologies being used.
“We are committed to advancing connected health initiatives and have been rolling out new features for our home patients so that care becomes even more coordinated and seamless,” said Joe Turk, President of Home and Critical Care Therapies at FMCNA. “PatientHub, combined with CareTeamHub for our staff, now allows us to receive information directly from the home, helping caregivers better flag, track, and intervene on potential issues earlier to allow for a better patient experience.”
To date, more than 16,000 patients have visited the PatientHub, submitting over 2.1 million flowsheets and more than 17,000 supply orders. FMCNA has committed to continuing this research as the technology advances and more patients are connected through RTM.
For more information, visit fmcna.com/thehub.
About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities, outpatient cardiac and vascular labs and urgent care centers, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated healthcare services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world’s largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website at https://fmcna.com.
Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, including changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
