Lifestyle Analytics for Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease

• American healthcare has traditionally focused on treating acute conditions. With the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the sector is reshaping into a model that centers around preventing and reversing chronic conditions.
• As the first Lifestyle Analytics Platform, HealthSnap leverages data from wearables, remote sensors and apps to create a Lifestyle Profile™ for each patient that identifies current health priorities while also anticipating future health challenges.
• The HealthSnap Remote platform was developed to allow providers to bill for remote patient monitoring within current CMS guidelines, but as a Lifestyle Analytics Platform, it will also help providers succeed as reimbursement models transition from fee-for-service to value-based care.
• HealthSnap provides device-agnostic technology, giving providers the option to choose the devices and wearables that make sense for them while also allowing patients the flexibility to use the devices they already own.

Last September, we wrote about how healthcare is changing from a treatment-focused model to a prevention-focused model. At the beginning of the 20th century, healthcare was centered around acute care—if you got sick, you called a doctor. As the century progressed, infectious diseases gave way to chronic diseases as the most common cause of death, but healthcare never evolved beyond the acute, treatment-based model that had existed for over 100 years. Today, lifestyle-related chronic diseases account for 81% of all hospital admissions, 76% of all physician visits, and $1.5 trillion in healthcare spending each year.

The sector is finally beginning to catch up, though—as chronic disease treatment consumes an increasing percentage of health expenditures and many Americans suffer from comorbidities of multiple chronic illnesses, payers, providers, and patients are finally recognizing the value of preventative, lifestyle-based care. As the first Lifestyle Analytics Platform (LAP), HealthSnap’s mission is to prevent and reverse chronic diseases with personalized lifestyle data insights. We do this not just by collecting and aggregating lifestyle data, but by analyzing it in a way that allows both patients and clinicians to anticipate and prevent debilitating, costly chronic conditions.

Unlocking the Power of Lifestyle Data

Lifestyle data came to prominence a decade ago with the introduction of consumer-oriented wellness devices and wearables. Since then, clinicians and payers have begun to recognize the clinical value of lifestyle data, particularly in addressing and preventing chronic diseases. In 2019, new CPT codes were introduced to allow providers to bill for services related to wearable devices and remote sensors, a move that reflects the increasing value and potential of this data.

Today, patients and providers have more data than ever, but more data isn’t always helpful. That’s where Lifestyle Analytics come in—while tools exist to collect and aggregate lifestyle health data, as the first Lifestyle Analytics Platform, HealthSnap goes the extra mile to transform that data into an easily understandable, actionable Lifestyle Profile. By providing patients with insight into their current health status, along with suggested action steps to improve their future health status, HealthSnap empowers them with the self-efficacy to make changes today that will benefit them for years to come.

Lifestyle Health Analytics are also a powerful tool for providers—by generating scores for overall health, as well as domain-specific scores for metabolism, heart health, and nutrition (amongst others), clinicians are able to prioritize patients who need extra care to reduce costly readmissions while continuing to deliver personalized care to their entire patient population by expanding the continuum of care to the 364 days a year a healthy or non-acute patient isn’t in the office for a routine checkup.

Lifestyle Analytics at Scale

As the first Lifestyle Analytics Platform, HealthSnap has developed a scalable solution that builds on peer-reviewed literature to deliver actionable feedback to providers and patients, all while lowering costs for payers. It’s also designed with the flexibility to keep up with a rapidly evolving healthcare sector—out of the box, HealthSnap pays for itself by allowing providers to bill for remote patient monitoring services under the 2019 CMS fee schedule and, as additional CPT codes are added, HealthSnap will update so that providers can take advantage of new billing codes in 2020 and beyond. It’s also device agnostic, so providers have the flexibility of choosing the devices that best fit their practice and patients have the convenience of using the devices they already own.

The transformative power of Lifestyle Analytics become even clearer within value-based payment models—HealthSnap’s Lifestyle Profiles help providers target the most critical patients with high-touch interventions to reverse chronic diseases, all while monitoring and supporting healthier patients to keep them chronic disease-free. In the end, the patients are healthier and the provider is able to run a successful business within a reimbursement system where efficiency and quality are prioritized.

Lifestyle Analytics and the Future of Healthcare

Healthcare in the United States is at a critical inflection point—payers are recognizing the value of preventative care that anticipates or reverses chronic diseases; patients are behaving as consumers and taking a more active role in their healthcare; and clinicians are navigating these transitions with both patient health outcomes and financial viability in mind.

HealthSnap is already working with forward-thinking providers, clinicians, and health systems to prepare for a future where value-based care has completely replaced fee for service, linking health outcomes and chronic disease prevention to revenue and market success. They’re finding that Lifestyle Analytics deliver value today while positioning them to succeed in the healthcare sector of the future. In that future, the most successful providers and the healthiest patients will benefit from Lifestyle Analytics that delivers personalized, actionable analysis in a way that empowers care teams and patients to achieve their full health potential.

With HealthSnap, that future is here today.