Lyn O'Brien, MS RN ANP, Geriatric Outreach Services, Mount Auburn Hospital, 190 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown, MA 02472, 617-926-2901, lynob@comcast.net and Carl W. Nelson, PhD, Northeastern University, 319 Hayden, 365 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.

We examine hospital emergency admissions and projected resultant cost differentials over a nine month study period of two randomly chosen groups of frail elders (n=40) with multiple medical diagnoses who receive home health care services from a team of geriatric nurse practitioners, supervised by a physician, where the provision of ongoing email communications between the patient’s informal care giver and the provider team is a control variable. Small sample sizes and non-normal distributions necessitate logarithmic data transformations and/or non-parametric (Wilcoxon/Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis) tests for comparisons of cost data. Preliminary analyses indicate statistically significant differences in hospital emergency admissions and projected cost differentials. We extrapolate these results to project Medicare cost savings and argue for reimbursement incentives to stimulate implementation of further telemedicine initiatives.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Evaluate the potential reduction in caregiver burden, hospital emergency room admissions, and cost savings from a provider-caregiver e-mail communication system.
• Recognize potential Medicare cost savings.
• Identify potential incentives designed to stimulate e-mail communications.

Keywords: Caregivers, Frail Elderly

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.