ADT alerts save money, improve care in R.I.

ADT alerts, or real-time clinical alerts of an admission, discharge or transfer, are helping healthcare organizations in Rhode Island reduce 30-day hospital admissions, duplicate testing and emergency department (ED) visits, according to a Health IT Buzz blog post.

The post, written by Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Project Officers Larry Jessup, MHA and Kristina Celentano and Rhode Island CurrentCare Senior Associate Joyce Coutu, described how ADT alerts transmitted through Rhode Island’s health information exchange (HIE) translate into cost savings.

The Rhode Island Quality Institute, which operates CurrentCare, conducted an analysis of the readmission rates for patients enrolled in the HIE and found that over a 30-day period, all cause hospital readmission rates dropped 18 percent for patients whose primary care providers utilized hospital alerts compared to patients whose doctors did not use the service. Those with alerts achieved a potential cost savings of approximately $1.4 million, according to the blog.

Use of AFT alerts especially have benefited infants and families in neonatal ICUs. Working with the Rhode Island regional extension center, the state’s Women & Infants Hospital created the program Partnering with Parents, which offered the ability to sign up for CurrentCare. Program team members now depend on the ADTs to give them prompt notification when an enrolled infant has presented at the ED. This has allowed them to reach families to see if they need support.

“Being able to respond to these events in such a timely manner has undoubtedly allowed the Partnering with Parents Program to prevent additional ED visits and allow them to maximize the support families receive when transitioning their fragile infants home,” wrote the authors.

Read the blog here.