COVID-19 continues to rage through the U.S., with a current death rate
of more than 705,000 Americans. At the present, a time when beds in
intensive care units are desperately needed for SARS-CoV-2 patients, Reliq Health Technologies Inc.'s (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN) iUGO Care platform is helping keep patients out of U.S. hospital emergency rooms. At the same time, healthcare changes resulting from the pandemic are helping Reliq grow its customer base.
The telemedicine technology company's iUGO Care platform gives healthcare providers access to real-time remote patient monitoring data. This allows physicians and their teams to intervene in a timely fashion when problems arise, thereby preventing patients from visiting the emergency room and/or being hospitalized.
In fact, the platform has been shown to drastically reduce chronic disease patients' risk of hospitalization due to complications of their conditions. IUGO Care encompasses three modules: Remote Patient Monitoring, Chronic Care Management, and Behavioral Health Integration.
The pressure of COVID-19, and now its variants, on hospitals has led to payors throughout the U.S. expanding reimbursement for remote patient monitoring and has led to increasing numbers of healthcare providers delivering care virtually to their patients, particularly those with chronic diseases.
One major aim of these two shifts is to decrease patients' need for and use of emergency room and intensive care unit resources so they remain available to COVID-19 patients.
As a result of the reimbursement trend, Texas Medicaid, earlier this year, expanded the number of chronic conditions covered under reimbursed remote patient monitoring services. This went into effect Sept. 1, 2021.
Before that date, the payor only reimbursed medical providers for remote monitoring of patients with diabetes and/or hypertension. However now, with the coverage expansion, eligible clinical conditions also include congestive heart failure; end-stage disease of the heart, liver, kidney, lung or pancreas; organ transplant; and conditions requiring mechanical ventilation. Now, Texas Medicaid reimbursement in this regard is more like Medicare's, which encompasses even more qualifying conditions.
The expanded Texas Medicaid coverage is benefitting Reliq Health in that it just garnered three more iUGO Care clients in the state, primary care medical practices, a news release noted. These groups' cumulative patient population is about 1,500, from which Reliq expects to generate $60 per person per month. The company aims to get all of these patients added to the platform this quarter.
Disclosures:
1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
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