The Quadruple Aim is an expansion of the Triple Aim framework developed by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement to advance the U.S. healthcare system. The initial framework focused primarily on improving the lives of patients. It includes:
- Improved Patient Experience
- Better Outcomes for the Broader Population
- Lower Costs
While the Triple Aim has served as an effective guide to optimizing the health system, it still needs to address the widespread burnout and dissatisfaction among healthcare practitioners, which inadvertently affects the probability of optimum patient care. Therefore, a fourth dimension — Improved Clinical Experience — was added to the initial framework, and the Quadruple Aim was born.
Digital Technology’s Role in Achieving the Quadruple Aim
A recent study revealed that healthcare providers are increasing their investment in digital health solutions in their effort to meet each component of the Quadruple Aim. Growth opportunities highlighted by the study include telehealth and remote patient monitoring which can be utilized to assess, track, and treat patients outside the hospital setting.
Conveniently, quality care, improved patient satisfaction and reduced healthcare costs are at the core of telehealth and RPM initiatives. By nature, telehealth and RPM offer a solution that aligns with the needs of the Quadruple Aim of healthcare. Let’s look at how RPM can target each component in the Quadruple Aim framework:
Improved Patient Experience
This component of the Quadruple Aim focuses on improving the care patients and their families receive. Overall patient experience can be improved by actively involving patients in their care and providing coordinated, patient-centric services. Patients who feel invested in their care and empowered to make their own healthcare decisions are more likely to have a positive experience with their healthcare providers.
The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) outlines several aspects to measure a patient’s hospital stay experience. Among them are communication with doctors, nurses, and hospital staff; care transition; cleanliness and conduciveness of the hospital environment; and the overall rating of the hospital. In today's consumer-oriented environment, patients should receive a seamless, user-friendly, and high-quality healthcare experience. This survey allows them to rate their stay. Patients can also choose hospitals based on the HCAHPS scores, as these score are publicly accessible.
How telehealth and RPM can help:
Telehealth and RPM provide patients access to healthcare whenever and wherever they are. This is especially helpful for patients from rural areas and those with time and transportation constraints. These digital solutions also improve communication with healthcare providers and in turn, can improve patient satisfaction and self-management of acute and chronic conditions.
Better Outcomes for the Broader Population
In a society that is facing an increase in chronic diseases, empowering patients to take control of their health can influence individual health outcomes and, as a result, health outcomes of the larger population.
Healthcare providers can improve management and decrease disease exacerbations by using measures that have been proven effective. This will result in better overall management of chronic diseases amongst that population.
How telehealth and RPM can help:
On top of utilizing telehealth and RPM to educate patients, monitor patients’ health status remotely in real-time, and ensure medication adherence, the data collected from these devices can give valuable information for the management of patient conditions. This information can be used to identify the patients at risk for clinical decompensation and improve their health outcomes with prompt intervention.
Lower Costs
Each of the components in the Quadruple Aim is interconnected. When patient experience is enhanced by empowering patients to take charge of their own conditions, the goal of achieving better population health is advanced. When the severity and widespread occurrence of disease is better managed, the per capita cost of healthcare will be driven down.
The Quadruple Aim lowers the cost of care by avoiding costly and unnecessary healthcare appointment visits. This can be done by improving patient education and understanding of their diagnosis, which could prevent a patient from going to an emergency room for a condition that could be managed in a primary care setting. By focusing on preventive care and reimbursing providers who deliver high-quality, evidence-based medicine, patients can have healthier lives at a lower cost to themselves and the healthcare systems.
How telehealth and RPM can help:
A study showed that the cost of telehealth averages only $40 to $50 per visit compared to an average of $136 to $176 for an in-person acute care visit. Telehealth and RPM improve patient access to care, allowing them to receive treatment virtually. Digital technologies can also help reduce healthcare costs by reducing readmissions, optimizing staffing through remote solutions like Hospital at Home, leveraging reimbursements, and providing value-based care.
Improved Clinical Experience
Studies show that around one in three physicians experience burnout at any given time. Burnout does not only interfere with their well-being but also with the quality of care they are expected to deliver.
A successful healthcare system depends on a balanced relationship between those who provide care and those who receive it. Improving the work environment of healthcare providers may allow these providers to maximize their potential and maximize the quality of patient care.
How telehealth and RPM can help:
Telehealth and RPM can help mitigate the overcrowding of hospitals and reduce healthcare providers’ workload. With information available electronically at their fingertips, patients can learn about their health conditions and care plans without relying only on clinicians. This supplements the time spent on patient education and allows clinicians to focus on more high-risk patients with urgent care needs. Remote patient monitoring, fewer in-person visits, and reduced ER visits and hospital readmission rates can significantly improve logistics of patient care and clinician workflows.
Achieve the Quadruple Aim with HRS Telehealth and RPM Solutions
Deploy HRS solutions to improve patient experience, achieve better healthcare outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance clinical experience. Learn more about how our telehealth and RPM solutions can assist your organization in achieving the quadruple aim in healthcare.
