Abstract released at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress® outlines strategy to improve outcomes and lower costs for patients with symptomatic chronic disease
CHICAGO and LAS VEGAS, Jan. 25, 2024 – SonarMD, Technology-enabled patient engagement leads to 10 times fewer hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to new research presented at the seventh annual Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, a meeting convening the IBD experts to transform patient care. This finding underscores the importance of proactive patient engagement as the foundation for population health.
The study examined claims data of over 1,000 patients with IBD between January 2022 and December 2022. Eighty percent (939 patients) were enrolled in SonarMD’s program and 20% (234 risk-matched patients) were not enrolled during the study period. Researchers measured disease-related ED visits, inpatient hospital admissions and the use of therapeutics, including biologics.
In addition to observing a 10-fold reduction in hospital and ED visits between the engaged and unengaged groups, the analysis showed two-thirds of all inpatient admissions and ED visits could be attributed to the unengaged group — despite accounting for only 20% of the total patient population.
“You can’t manage who you can’t engage. And as physicians, we are vulnerable to familiarity bias, meaning it’s easy to overestimate how much we engage our patients.” said Lawrence Kosinski, MD, a gastroenterologist-CMO of SonarMD, and the study’s lead author. “But this study shows that even a few unengaged patients can be a major risk.”
SonarMD’s technology-enabled care coordination platform was used to engage patients in the study. The platform’s digital tools help proactively detect patient deterioration and alert care teams so they can intervene before higher acuity care is needed.
SonarMD partners with health plans and providers using value-based contracts to deliver an optimal GI experience. Previous research has shown SonarMD successfully engages 85% of patients on average, driving 15% cost savings per member per year.
“This research highlights the challenge of managing outcomes for unengaged patients. SonarMD helps practices overcome the first challenge of managing patients with complex chronic disease — engagement,” said Beth Houck, CEO of SonarMD. “Our end-to-end care coordination program helps specialists and care teams focus on providing the best possible patient experience, so patients can stay healthier and out of the hospital.”
To learn more about this research at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, visit poster P020, The Importance of Patient Engagement in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, during the poster sessions and reception on January 26. All abstracts presented at the event will also be published as an online supplement to Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
About SonarMD
SonarMD aligns incentives around the doctor-patient relationship to reimagine care for complex chronic GI diseases. Using AI technology and human support, we predict clinical deterioration and make it easier for patients and specialists to proactively address problems before they become health emergencies. For more information, visit SonarMD.com.
