Home heart monitoring
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Tracking pacemaker and defibrillator recipients with Biotronik's wireless home monitoring system reduces direct patient care costs 12% and associated indirect costs 26% annually per patient, according to cost-efficacy models presented May 9 by Antonio Chan, MD, Stanford University, at the NASPE annual meeting in San Diego. Over seven years, the technology could save an average of $700 per patient annually, saving Medicare up to $121 mil. per year, Chan concludes. The communications system is incorporated into Biotronik's Belos VR-T ICD and Philos DR-T pacemaker, approved April 24 and April 2, respectively. In a 100-patient multicenter trial, the Philos DR-T transmitted key cardiac data via a German call center to a physician on 92.3% of attempts, usually within one minute, according to Chan....