Blog – ForaCare

Did You Stop By the ForaCare Booth at ATA 19?

We want to thank everyone who came by and spoke with us at the ATA 19 Conference in New Orleans! If you were unable to attend or didn’t have a chance to check out our booth, we’d like to share a little about who we are.

ForaCare Inc. designs and manufactures medical devices in order to provide a complete chronic disease management solution for diabetes, hypertension, COPD and chronic heart failure. All devices connect to our FORA® 24/7 HealthView TeleHealth System via cellular connection so physicians can view patient data in real time and provide better health outcomes.

One of the first adopters of remote patient monitoring, ForaCare has provided this service for over 20 years. And now even more physicians are taking advantage of our complete solution because of new reimbursement specifically for remote patient monitoring.

Contact ForaCare if you’re interested in learning more.

Decrease the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes with Early Education

Children are flooded with a great number of options when it comes to being active, yet very few manage to hit 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity every day. That could be part of the reason one in three children are considered overweight or obese.

And as childhood obesity rises, type 2 diabetes in children also grows in prevalence because increased body weight promotes insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not use insulin properly, causing blood glucose levels to rise. High blood glucose can result in more serious complications.

It’s crucial to avoid obesity in order to help prevent type2 diabetes since they’re known statistically to be linked. The best way to achieve that goal is to encourage children to eat healthy and stay active from the very beginning.

What child doesn’t love jump roping, playing hopscotch or riding a bicycle? Children are constantly switching from one activity to another so it should be easy for parents or teachers to take some time to discover a few activities each individual child loves and encourage them to follow through.

Remember to consider nutritional guidelines as well to support healthy habits. Sugary snacks should be replaced with healthier options. Maintain moderate food proportions with meals. And focus on small changes that will build to an overall attitude of healthier eating.

Share your own advice or thoughts with #EveryKidHealthyWeek. Every year, April 22–26 celebrates children making healthy choices for a better life.

CMS Issues Clarification for Reimbursement Code 99457

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a technical correction in March after too much confusion surrounded reimbursement code 99457, one of the three remote patient monitoring codes new to the 2019 Physician Fee Schedule Rule.

The correction clarified that reimbursement code 99457 may be billed as an “incident to” service, which expands its use beyond the physician alone. Now qualified medical professionals, under direct supervision, can also bill to 99457 and receive reimbursement for remote patient monitoring services relating to this code.

Remote physiologic monitoring treatment management services, 20 minutes or more of clinical staff/physician/other qualified healthcare professional time in a calendar month requiring interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the month.
Code 99457

When the remote patient monitoring codes were announced, commenters requested clarification since the reimbursement code description seemed to contradict the initial response from CMS of “We note that code 99457 describes professional time and therefore cannot be furnished by auxiliary personnel incident to a practitioner’s professional services.”

CMS replaced its official response as “We thank commenters and confirm that these services may be furnished by auxiliary personnel incident to a practitioner’s professional service.”

With this clarification, medical professionals can bill more easily to code 99457, along with codes 99453 and 99454—all for remote patient monitoring reimbursement.

For more information on how to take advantage of ForaCare’s remote patient monitoring program, contact us.

Let’s Talk about National Public Health Week

We’re always embracing the relationship between healthcare and technology, and since it’s National Public Health Week, we are joining in the larger conversation.

What are some of the ways you’ve seen healthcare improve because of technology?

For ForaCare, the number one benefit we see is better health outcomes through remote patient monitoring. This includes improved glucose and HbA1c levels in diabetics; fewer hospitalizations for patients with COPD, CHF and multiple chronic conditions; improved quality of life in COPD patients; and lower mortality in CHF patients—according to our white paper.

Our remote patient monitoring end-to-end solution provides these positive results for patients managing chronic diseases. And with 20% of ForaCare’s staff dedicated to research and development, we can continually innovate and bring you the latest advancements to our medical devices.

Share your story of how technology has helped your health with #NPHW.

Diabetes Alert Day Brings Awareness to the Risk Factors

An estimated 84.1 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition in which glucose levels are elevated but not enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Are you at risk?

The most common form of diabetes is type 2, which is caused by genes, ethnicity and age as well as lifestyle factors including physical inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Although it is not possible to change your genetic information, there are plenty of lifestyle choices you can make to minimize your risk.

Lose weight, stay active and eat healthy.

Just 10-15 pounds in weight loss could make a huge difference. Once you achieve your weight goal, stay active to keep those pounds off. Pair this with a reduced-calorie meal plan and your chance of developing type 2 diabetes will be reduced.

If you have recently been diagnosed, remember one of the best ways to manage your diabetes is to check your blood glucose levels every day. Your levels will allow you to make decisions about food, physical activity and medication.

As a company focused on chronic disease management, ForaCare can help you manage your diabetes with our innovative medical devices.

Help us bring awareness to the risks by sharing #diabetesalertday.

March 14 is World Kidney Day

The leading causes of kidney failure are diabetes and hypertension—that’s why ForaCare is joining in the celebration of World Kidney Day today.

High blood glucose and high blood pressure can damage the kidneys. When damaged, the kidneys don’t filter blood properly and can cause waste to build up in the body leading to other health problems.

So, what’s the best way to prevent, or at least slow down, kidney disease?

Monitor your blood glucose and blood pressure regularly, and work toward lowering your levels to a normal range. Plus, develop or maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as eating right, exercising, sleeping enough hours every night, and taking medications as prescribed.

We understand the importance of healthy kidneys, and ForaCare’s innovative devices are amazing tools that monitor your vital signs to keep you well.

Share #WorldKidneyDay across social media to help bring awareness to kidney health.