In a health expenditure framework, the question of the relative cost-effectiveness ratio of new medical technologies is essential. The EVIDENCE-RM retrospective study, conducted by Implicity, provided concrete elements on the medical-economic impact of remote monitoring for patients with implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs).
A comparison between remote monitoring systems
The aim of the study was to compare healthcare costs between Implicity’s universal remote monitoring platform, independent of the ICD manufacturer, and conventional solutions offered by the manufacturers. Data from patients monitored via the Implicity platform in 2019 was cross-referenced with the French National Health Data System (SNDS) database, the analysis highlighted significant differences between care costs for patients monitored with the Implicity platform versus manufacturer’s solutions.
Significant savings
The study demonstrates that patients monitored on the IMPLICITY IM009¹ universal remote monitoring platform showed² :
- A 4% reduction in overall healthcare costs
- A 17.8% decrease in hospital costs, mainly due to the reduction in cardiovascular care expenditure
- A 7.9% increase in outpatient care costs, illustrating more proactive management
Furthermore, Implicity’s universal platform demonstrated a negative incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of -€103 per day of life outside of hospital, indicating patients are spending more time outside of hospital while generating cost savings.
A beneficial preventive approach
These results indicate the Implicity platform facilitates better anticipation of complications and more effective preventive management, thereby reducing hospitalizations and associated costs. The adoption of universal and independent solutions could therefore constitute an interesting way to optimize health expenditure while improving the quality of care.
¹IM009: 2021. Manufacturer: Implicity. IM009 is a software as a medical device (SaMD) intended to be used as an adjunct of a remote monitoring platform to follow-up target population patients. IM009 is compatible with devices with remote monitoring feature such as cardiac implantable electronic devices and connected weight scales. The three main intents of IM009 are to (1) label observations generated by medical devices according to predefined categories, (2) create clinically relevant observations for worsening atrial fibrillation and/or rapid weight gain in the context of heart failure, based on data recorded by the device and (3) label Atrial Fibrillation burden observations generated by cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) as to be hidden or relevant for health care provider based on patient’s anticoagulation status. Hence, IM009 is designed to reduce the workload burden of healthcare providers/professionals in charge of reviewing the observations received from the patients’ devices. IM009 is not intended for use in life supporting or sustaining systems or Alarm devices and as a solely means of diagnosis. It is offered to healthcare providers/professionals on an advisory basis only in conjunction with the physician’s knowledge of ECG patterns, patient background, clinical history, symptoms, and other diagnostic information. Class I, according to Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. See the instructions for use for more information. Covered under the conditions defined in Article L. 162-52 of the French Social Security Code.
²E. Marijon. Cost impact of the use of a universal cardiac implantable electronic devices remote monitoring solution: results of the EVIDENCE RM study. Poster presentation : European Society of Cardiology 2024; London.