Behavioral health providers know that contactless patient monitoring saves lives.
Now they have data showing that it saves money, too.
New research from the UK-based York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) reveals that a medium-sized (300-bed) behavioral health care provider using Oxevision contactless patient monitoring for one year sees a total net savings of $3.2 million, a combination of $1.4 million in cash savings and $1.8 million in cash-equivalent time savings.
“These cash savings are significant, with the provider expected to break even within just three to five months,” says Daniel Bayley, Head of Insights and Outcomes at Oxehealth. “The time savings are crucial too, as the time saved can be reinvested in therapeutic, hands-on care.”
YHEC’s research — which is published in peer-reviewed journals — is based on multi-year, before-and-after studies with control groups across multiple providers, all of which saw consistent savings.
It all starts with Oxevision, which uses secure digital technology to gather objective patient data without putting demands on the staff or the patient. Here is a look at three key stats from the YHEC research, showing how Oxevision helps providers save both time and money.
1. Oxevision helped staff reduce safety incidents by up to 48%
Oxevision has gotten a lot of attention over the years for its benefits in overnight rounding, and rightly so. But the technology is a must around the clock, as staff can respond to patient activity alerts any time to intervene proactively.
“If a patient is at high risk of falls, Oxevision can alert staff to when that patient’s getting toward the edge of the bed,” Bayley says.
This doesn’t merely give staff members confidence that patients are safe. The data shows it, as Oxevision users have seen significant reductions in safety incidents, including:
- 48% reduction in falls
- 44% reduction in self-harm
- 37% reduction in assaults
“Staff typically spend several hours dealing with a single incident,” Bayley says. “From supporting the patient to preparing relevant paperwork — it all takes a lot of time. Each incident prevented with Oxevision not only reduces harm, it also frees up valuable staff time.”
2. One-to-one observations were reduced by around 30%
Keeping the highest risk behavioral health patients safe sometimes requires a staff member to observe them 24 hours a day. Rising utilization of services combined with staffing shortages makes that difficult.
By providing staff with real-time, actionable data, Oxevision enhances their ability to manage patient risk, thus reducing the need for avoidable one-to-one observations. This not only alleviates strain on resources but also creates a care environment that is more comfortable and less intrusive for patients.
“The key term is ‘avoidable,’ Bayley says. “‘Avoidable’ means that it may not be the best for the patient to be on one-to-one observations, and it can actually be counterproductive to their recovery.”
3. With Oxevision, night-time Q15s took half the time
In night-time rounding, providers normally send a staff member to each patient’s bedroom to check that patient is safe.
“You have to go into their bedroom and shine a flashlight on them to confirm their safety,” Bayley says. “That’s disruptive, inevitably waking up the patient which can impact their wellbeing and ultimately their recovery. It’s also very time-consuming for staff. Using Oxevision to remotely check that patients are safe not only benefits patients — it also speeds up the process of doing Q15s at night.”
All told, looking at the cash-releasing savings only, the ROI for one year of Oxevision is 183%.
“Assuming the impact of the tech remains consistent, a 300-bed provider would save $16 million over five years,” Bayley says. “Simply put, providers with Oxevision are getting better outcomes with lower spend.”
YHEC is a health economics consultancy and research firm fully owned by the University of York, UK. Specializing in both national and international projects, YHEC is dedicated to maintaining the highest research standards and ensuring objectivity and impartiality in all its endeavors.
Estimated cost savings for a medium-sized (300-bed) behavioral health care provider one year after the implementation of Oxevision:
| Time savings ($ equivalent) | $1,853,880 |
| Net cash savings | $1,355,400 |
| Net total savings | $3,209,280 |
| ROI (cash-savings only) | 183% |
| Break-even point (cash-savings only) | 4.2 months |
This article is sponsored by Oxehealth. To learn more about how Oxevision and find out how much your facility could save, try Oxehealth’s savings calculator.
