Remote Therapeutic Monitoring and Infection-Related Health Care Resource Utilization in Patients With Hematologic...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Digital Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Infection is a major cause of mortality in hematologic malignancy patients.
• Early detection and management of infections are critical for improving outcomes.
• Traditional monitoring methods may not be sufficient for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if an electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO)-based remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) platform can decrease infection-related healthcare utilization compared to standard monitoring.
• To assess the impact of ePRO RTM on outpatient antibiotic use and associated healthcare costs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study involving adults with hematologic malignancies undergoing anticancer therapy.
• Comparison between patients actively using an ePRO-based RTM platform and those not enrolled.
• Propensity score weighting to balance patient characteristics between groups.
• Analysis of infection-related healthcare utilization (ED visits, hospital admissions) and outpatient antibiotic use.

Main Results:

• Patients using the ePRO RTM platform showed significantly lower rates of infection-related emergency department visits and hospital admissions.
• Active ePRO users had higher rates of outpatient antibiotic use.
• The ePRO RTM approach was associated with estimated cost savings of nearly $1 million per 1,000 patients annually.

Conclusions:

• ePRO RTM during treatment for hematologic malignancies is linked to reduced infection-related healthcare utilization and lower care costs.
• This digital monitoring approach may become increasingly valuable with the advent of more complex cancer therapies.