This article is sponsored by Curana Health. In this Voices interview, Senior Housing News speaks with Michael Emery, FNP-C, MBA, Executive Vice President of Strategy at Curana Health, to learn more about remote patient monitoring (RPM) technologies and how they are improving resident health outcomes and reducing hospitalizations in senior living communities.
Senior Housing News: Please tell us about yourself. What is your role at Curana Health and how did your career path bring you here?
Michael Emery: At Curana Health, we offer on-site health care services and value-based care solutions — including Accountable Care Organizations and Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans — for senior housing operators and their residents/patients. As our Executive Vice President of Strategy, I lead the design and development of our clinical and operational products, including our RPM programs.
Before switching to the administrative and senior housing sectors of the health care industry, I worked as a critical care and intensive care unit (ICU) registered nurse, as well as a family nurse practitioner, for many years.
What inspired you to transition into the senior living space?
Michael Emery: During my time as an ICU nurse, I had the privilege of caring for a lovely, fiery lady at the end of her life. In her last days, her daughter said, “I don’t trust anyone but Michael to help my mother pass over.” That was an incredible honor and extremely rewarding. It inspired me to not only be the best ICU nurse I could be, but to also search for a future career that would allow me to make a larger impact on seniors in the later stages of their lives.
What exactly is remote patient monitoring and how is it used in senior living communities today?
Michael Emery: At its core, RPM is the use of connected devices, such as blood sugar monitors, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, and digital scales, to track key health metrics.
In senior living settings, residents utilize these devices within their homes to gather real-time readings that are sent to a remote team of clinicians for review. If the clinicians have concerns about a specific reading, they notify the resident’s care team to intervene.
What senior living pain points do RPM technologies address?
Michael Emery: One of the biggest pain points is delayed identification of health issues, which can lead to hospitalizations and worse health outcomes overall.
A resident’s health status can change significantly between visits with a provider, especially if the resident is facing chronic health conditions. With RPM, we can detect subtle trends — including rising blood pressure readings, dropping oxygen saturation levels or concerning blood sugar readings — and address the concerns in a prompt manner.
With RPM, the ultimate goal is preventing avoidable hospitalizations, as seniors are more at risk for hospital-acquired infections, bed sores and poorer health outcomes after returning from an acute setting.
Just as importantly, we want them to be able to enjoy their communities as thoroughly as possible — experiencing more well days than sick days.
Can you share an RPM success story that involves early intervention?
Michael Emery: A Watermark Retirement Communities senior living resident with type-2 diabetes had started participating in fitness classes and better managing her diet. She visited her primary care provider (PCP), and they decided to adjust her insulin prescription to account for her increased physical activity.
Although Curana Health was not her primary care provider, she had been seen by our clinicians for secondary care in the past and was part of our RPM program. Soon after her PCP visit, an exceptionally low blood sugar reading was picked up by our RPM-issued glucometer.
Our remote nursing team recognized the deviation from the patient’s standard readings and reached out to her care team. They determined that the woman had never filled her prescription, and therefore, was still taking her previous insulin dose. Luckily, with the help of Curana, her primary care team was able to resolve her hypoglycemia and support her in getting her new prescription filled.
It was an amazing outcome and testament to the power of RPM. Without that oversight, the woman, who had just started becoming more active and taking charge of her health, could have required hospitalization.
What is the connection between RPM and value-based care?
Michael Emery: Value-based care is focused on the quality, rather than the quantity, of services provided. There is a misconception that value-based care is about spending less, but really, it’s about spending more in the right areas to prevent acute medical concerns.
Overall, RPM really supports the tenets of value-based care by improving resident health outcomes, enhancing satisfaction and lowering avoidable health care utilization. It’s a win for residents, providers and payers alike.
When we look back at 2025 and RPM, this will be the year of…?
Michael Emery: Adopting best-in-class RPM technologies and embracing all they have to offer.
This Voices article is adapted from a recent SHN Transform podcast with Michael Emery and Stephanie Boreale of Watermark Retirement Communities. To hear the whole episode, click here. To learn more about Curana Health, visit their website here.
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