Two Studies Presented at Digestive
Disease Week® (DDW) Highlights How Digital Platform Engages
Patients In Between Appointments to Reduce Risk for
Complications
CHICAGO, May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- SonarMD today presented positive results from two
large, longitudinal studies evaluating several major drivers of
medical costs in people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
(IBD) – defined as people living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's
disease – and enrolled in the company's end-to-end, digital care
coordination program. In both studies, participants enrolled in the
SonarMD platform experienced a statistically significant and
substantial decline in Emergency Department visits and In-patient
Admissions compared to risk-matched control groups. These data were
presented at the Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) Annual Meeting
taking place in Washington, D.C.,
May 18-21, 2024.
Affecting up to 70 million Americans, the U.S. spends
$136 billion each year on digestive
health as these conditions are complex to predict, treat and
manage. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis require close
monitoring to reduce the risk for complications that lead to
lengthy hospital stays and significant medical spend. SonarMD
supports patients' outcomes by entering risk bearing value-based
care arrangements with major health plans and their contracted
gastroenterology practices, who then offer the digital platform at
no cost to their patients. In addition to providing a holistic
health program, the digital platform risk stratifies patients and
performs continuous symptom checks to identify deteriorating
symptoms sooner and communicate changes to physicians, meaning that
care teams can intervene faster to keep patients healthier and
lower the overall cost of care.
"The richness and volume of data from these two lengthy studies
definitively shows that we can improve patient outcomes simply by
keeping closer tabs on IBD symptoms in between appointments. We are
empowering both patients and physicians to proactively address
deteriorating symptoms before they cause major problems requiring
intervention," said Dr. Kosinski, SonarMD Founder & Board
Member. "In addition to improving patient outcomes, these large
studies confirm that SonarMD offers value to health plans who
experience significant cost savings through reduced healthcare
utilization, which ultimately benefits all members of the health
plan."
Study One: Hospital Visits Significantly Reduced Across a
Two-Year Period
In a retroactive, 24-month study,
researchers compared key drivers of medical costs in a SonarMD
engaged population of 495 patients with IBD from three New Jersey-based medical practices against a
risk-matched, control population of 2,695 patients with identical
plan coverage where the SonarMD platform was not deployed. All
percentages are calculated per 1,000 members.
Study One Results:
- In year 1 (2021), the rate of IBD-related emergency
department visits for the SonarMD cohort was 18% lower than the
control group and in year 2 (2022) the rate was 46% less than the
control group (p=0.003).
- In year 1 (2021), the rate of IBD-related inpatient
admissions for the SonarMD cohort was 20% lower than the control
group and in year 2 the rate was 78% lower as compared with the
control group (p=0.008).
Study Two: Large 12-Month Study Confirms Reduced Healthcare
Utilization Among IBD Patients
In this 12-month
retrospective study, researchers compared 1,008 Minnesota-based IBD patients enrolled in
SonarMD to 1,657 risk score-matched unenrolled IBD patients from a
single major health plan. The risk score is based on the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hierarchical
Condition Category (HCC) risk model, which estimates future
health care costs for patients, with additional IBD specific
categories to better reflect cost and utilization variance for
members with IBD. All percentages are calculated per 1,000
members.
Study Two Results:
- The rate of disease related emergency department admits
for SonarMD patients was 15% lower than the control group
(p=0.0002)
- The rate of disease related inpatient admits for SonarMD
patients was 14% lower than the control group (p=0.005)
Researchers noted in their conclusion that these data stem from
a sophisticated practice where there is a dedicated IBD team with
imbedded protocols. Yet, even with comprehensive protocols in place
(where the percentage decrease is lower in this better controlled
patient population), the SonarMD group still experienced a
statistically significant reduced rate of complications that
required emergency room visits and hospital admittance.
"Most people living with chronic illness only get to see their
specialist periodically and appointments move quickly," said
Beth Houck, CEO of SonarMD. "These
studies confirm that our technology-forward, digital, end-to-end,
holistic health care coordination program helps people living with
IBD stay better connected to their health care team, which is vital
to catch changes early and reduce the risk for serious
complications. Our mission is to help patients stay healthier and
out of the hospital."
Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) is the largest international
gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of
gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal
surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the
Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological
Association (AGA), the American Society for Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary
Tract (SSAT), DDW is an in-person and online meeting from
May 18-21, 2024. The meeting
showcases more than 4,400 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the
latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More
information can be found at www.ddw.org
About SonarMD
SonarMD aligns incentives around the
doctor-patient relationship to reimagine care for complex chronic
GI diseases. Using predictive analytics and human support, the
SonarMD digital platform identifies clinical deterioration and
makes it easier for patients and specialists to proactively address
problems before they become health emergencies. In addition to
symptoms tracking, patients have access to holistic health
programs, including diet and nutrition counseling, emotional health
services and sleep improvement interventions that improve their
overall quality of care for services that traditionally can be
difficult to get reimbursed. For more information,
visit SonarMD.com.
Contact:
Jessica
Daitch
Jessica L. Daitch Communications, LLC -- Inspired Health
Communications & Strategy
917-816-6712
jessica@jldcommunications.com
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SOURCE SonarMD