Top 25 Innovators - 2019
Consumerism
Dr. John Loughnane
Chief of acute services and innovation, Commonwealth Care Alliance
Loughnane created CCA’s Mobile Integrated Health program, which is aimed at helping patients avoid costly emergency department visits. It taps into community paramedics to respond to calls and provide care in the patient’s home. The specially trained paramedics can perform such tasks as conducting physical exams, taking vital signs, and performing lab work and EKGs on the spot. Over four years, 82% of patients were able to avoid an ED or inpatient admission within three days of the home visit. ED avoidance saves roughly $1,900 per visit. Conservatively, the program generated $1 million in savings in 2018 and $6 million since its inception in 2014.