The healthcare savings to be found in Big Data from fitness bands and other wearable Health Tech devices are not just a “someday maybe” dream. According to a story in MedCity News, representatives from JFK Health have reported saving $5 million over the past five years by focusing on wellness programs for its 8,000 employees. The company partnered with SeeChange Health Solutions which provides a health analytics program. The results include a 31 percent drop in hospital admissions and a 50 percent decrease in readmissions.
SeeChange uses data from a variety of sources, ranging from clinical information from claims reports to biometric data from patient wearable devices. The result is a system that helps improve prevention and early detection of disease. And not only is the system saving the employer money; employees have saved 40 percent on their share of the monthly healthcare premiums.
The costs of healthcare and related insurance have grown rapidly over the last decade, and have become a major problem for employers and employees. Seeing positive results from a Big Data solution such as this one gives concrete hope for cost containment while delivering improved services for more people in the future, and wearable Health Tech devices are certain to play a growing role in these programs.
