In the post Telehealth Goes to Washington, I referenced the recently released AdvaMed report. Well, to save you some time, here are some data points abstracted from that report.

Among benefits cited in the report:

* A study of diabetics discharged from the hospital showed per-patient costs of those who received remote monitoring was nearly one-third lower than those in a control group.

* A study of 281 veterans who received remote monitoring found a 60% reduction in hospital admissions, a 66% cut in emergency room visits and 59% less pharmacy utilization.

* Fourteen percent of congestive heart failure patients receiving remote monitoring were re-admitted to the hospital within 30 days compared with a national rate of 23%. Their length of hospital stay also fell from a national benchmark of 6.2 days to 4 days.

The first and third data points are chronic care cases that are commonly found among seniors. The UAW would be wise to take a closer look here as to how they can begin supporting telehealth for retirees as part of the VEBAs that are being established with funds from GM, Chrysler and Ford.