LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Although Duane Wregglesworth of Buchanan, MI, has lived with Type 2 Diabetes for five years, he admits it’s only since mid-January of this year that he’s really learned how to avoid many of the complications that come with this condition.
Wregglesworth, 82, is one of 500 Humana Medicare Advantage members living with diabetes who will participate in the remote monitoring pilot program aimed at improving self-care management and reducing hospital admissions and inpatient costs. Humana Inc, (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation’s leading health and well-being companies, and Pharos Innovations, a leading provider of aging services technologies, are partnering on the telehealth pilot that includes Humana members in Texas, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“I never knew that activities like walking barefoot on the beach and soaking my feet in hot water could cause problems for people with diabetes,” said Wregglesworth. “I’ve also learned that symptoms, like a tingling sensation in the arms and legs, are related to my diabetes.”
Humana Cares / Senior Bridge, Humana’s national chronic care management division, is identifying and managing the 500 Humana Medicare Advantage members who will participate for a six-month stretch in the “Activities of Daily Living” in-home pilot aimed at helping members remain independent and in their homes.
Using Pharos’ patented technology platform, called Tel-Assurance®, members self-report health information daily, such as blood sugar, symptoms, diet and medication adherence, using whatever communication they prefer: a cellphone, telephone or internet. Tel-Assurance nurses review the information received and reach out to the members if there are any areas of concern.
“We know that people living with diabetes can do so much to improve their quality of life just by monitoring their conditions daily and by learning the activities that will have an impact, positive or negative, on their conditions,” said Gail Miller, Humana Cares / Senior Bridge Vice President of Telephonic Care Management Operations. “This user-friendly system also allows us to intervene more quickly if a member is having complications related to their diabetes.”
Humana Cares / SeniorBridge, Humana’s national chronic care management division, supports more than 400,000 individuals who have chronic conditions, struggle with daily activities and are frequently hospitalized, as well as their family members and caregivers.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading health care company that offers a wide range of insurance products and health and wellness services that incorporate an integrated approach to lifelong well-being. By leveraging the strengths of its core businesses, Humana believes it can better explore opportunities for existing and emerging adjacencies in health care that can further enhance wellness opportunities for the millions of people across the nation with whom the company has relationships.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders;
- Securities and Exchange Commission filings;
- Most recent investor conference presentations;
- Quarterly earnings news releases;
- Replays of most recent earnings release conference calls;
- Calendar of events (including upcoming earnings conference call dates and times, as well as planned interaction with research analysts and institutional investors);
- Corporate Governance information.
About Pharos Innovations
Founded in 1996 by a Johns Hopkins trained physician, Pharos Innovations assists healthcare clients in engaging patients in their daily self-care, the optimal path to reducing medical cost. Through the implementation of its innovative, device-free remote patient-monitoring platform, Tel-Assurance, clients bring care coordination efforts to scale and demonstrate both dramatic clinical improvement and cost savings. By proactively involving patients in their daily care each day, Tel-Assurance focuses early identification of impending care problems, so that providers can efficiently and cost-effectively manage their “at risk” populations.
Since its commercial launch in 2004, Pharos has continued to develop, refine, improve and validate the impact of Tel-Assurance on such populations as Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial and the Veteran’s Administration. Tel-Assurance has been successfully implemented in several large scale clinical trials, client programs, and Medicare and Medicaid demonstrations. For more information, visit www.pharosinnovations.com.
