Keeping a home-blood pressure monitoring kit at home, may not only help save lives, but help save money.
According to a study led by Alejandro Arrieta, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, home blood pressure monitoring kits can save money for insurance companies by improving healthcare quality and reducing healthcare costs. The study was published recently by the American Heart Association’s journal, Hypertension.
This is the first study of its kind and found that, depending on the insurance plan and age group, net savings associated with home blood pressure monitoring ranged from $33 to $166 per member in the first year, and from $415 to $1,364 over 10 years.
In the United States, more than 76 million adults have diagnosed high blood pressure, and many more are undiagnosed. Since high blood pressure causes no symptoms, periodic testing is critical. Annual tests in a hospital or doctor’s office are important, but for people with high blood pressure or conditions that put them at risk for it, more frequent monitoring is key to staying healthy.
“Home blood pressure monitors should be reimbursed, widely adopted across America and integrated into current clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension,” Arrieta said. “Our study provides evidence that reimbursement makes business sense for an insurance company.”
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