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Avalere Study
BrightStar Care® recently commissioned a study with Avalere Health, a leading healthcare analytics firm in the U.S., comparing BSC Personal Care clients from 2018 to a matched control group of Medicare Beneficiaries. Data from 2018 was used to avoid having the data skewed by COVID-19. Avalere assessed the utilization of Part A, B, and D Medicare services between the two populations, analyzing the impact of different healthcare conditions. For this study, Avalere looked at costs for 12 months before and 12 months after being on service with BSC, using three analytic steps to assess BSC performance on Key Metrics:
- Evaluate and match the two populations.
- Match cohort development and create an analytical plan.
- Assess comparative performance.
The Importance of Data
BrightStar Care was established in 2001 and now has 360 locations across 40 states. Providing non-skilled home care, non-Medicare skilled nursing, and staffing, with an RN overseeing every client’s POC, BrightStar has won many awards and has been widely recognized as an industry leader. However, it is difficult to quantify the benefits because of the nature of personal care services. While it’s easy to understand that helping seniors with the activities of daily living so that they can continue to live independently, in their own homes, is worthwhile, it’s hard to translate into numbers. BrightStar Care commissioned this study in order to prove the value of the assistance and companionship offered by personal care providers.
Findings
The evaluation and matching process began with 11,000 clients, and after applying various inclusion criteria to the data set, Avalere ended up with 3578 patients in both the Medicare FFS and the BSC groups. The populations were matched based on multiple clinical and non-clinical factors, and the data was analyzed using propensity score matching. Studying 45 different diseases, Avalere found that in 30 of the cases, the cost of care was less when BSC’s non-skilled services were part of the care plan.
The criteria used to reach this conclusion were utilization and cost. In other words, Avalere looked at how having a caregiver in the home to monitor changes in a person’s condition could help avoid additional healthcare services utilization. Cost was used to determine if the addition of these services would decrease the overall cost of care. Looking at four of the top medical conditions studied, the cost savings are significant.
- Diabetes with chronic complications: Based on 815 clients, the average savings per client added up to $7.949. While BSC clients’ average costs were $10,442, the comparison group’s costs averaged $18,391.
- COPD: The study looked at 801 clients, and found that the cost savings for BrightStar Care clients amounted to $5,328.
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): Looking at 1,058 clients the average savings per client amounted to $6,618. While the average costs for BSC patients totaled $16,764, the average for the comparison population was $23,382.
- Parkinson’s Disease: Studying 815 clients, the average savings for BSC clients added up to $12,011. Their costs were around $6,081, while the comparison group’s cost amounted to $18,092.
Conclusion
This study found that BrightStar Care was able to positively impact clients with chronic conditions in many ways. The services from BSC may reduce rates of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and readmissions, lowering healthcare utilization costs. What’s more, BSC’s interventions may slow disease progression, reducing cost, extending the amount of time the client is able to spend living at home and decreasing the number of negative outcomes. By working diligently to increase patient stabilization, alerting the care team of any changes, and actively promoting healthy lifestyle modifications, BSC provides high quality care that may result in better outcomes.
Trust BrightStar for Exceptional Care
The numbers show what we’ve always known: personal care services make a difference in people’s lives. At BrightStar Care® of Oak Brook, we believe in giving more. Offering a wide range of home care and medical staffing services in Oak Brook, IL, we give not only to the people we serve, but also to the community. We are committed to making our clients’ lives the best they can be, supporting their families, and strengthening the Oak Brook community, and we do this by providing high-quality, compassionate care, as well as unparalleled support for the local healthcare system. Whether you need someone to assist with daily activities or provide skilled nursing care, our nurses, caregivers, office team, and staff are all deeply invested in providing our customers with the care and support they need and deserve. We have been honored with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, not only nationally, but as a local company as well. Now, with this study, it’s been verified that we can help keep costs down while providing the very highest quality of in-home care. For more information about our in-home care, medical staffing, and other support services, call (630) 571-5555 or contact us through our website.