July 30, 2010 — The New England Healthcare Institute, a Cambridge-based health policy nonprofit, announced it has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Center for Technology and Aging to test the efficacy of home-based monitoring equipment for older adults with chronic illnesses.

The New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) will use the grant, one of five awarded nationally, to fund a “Home Telehealth” demonstration project involving patients in the Greater Boston area who have been hospitalized for congestive heart failure.

“This grant will enable NEHI to demonstrate how an important technology can make a significant difference in the quality of life for older adults with congestive heart failure,” said Wendy Everett, president of NEHI.

David Lindeman, director of the Center for Technology and Aging in Oakland, Calif., said the projects “will underscore the need to reform reimbursement policies and make possible wider adoption of important technologies across the country.”

Participants in the NEHI project will use a Home Telehealth device daily to collect data about their physical health and symptoms. The device sends this information electronically to the patients’ care team for assessment and, if necessary, intervention. NEHI will conduct the project in partnership with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi public agency, and Atrius Health.

Nationwide, eight of every ten older Americans suffer from one or more costly chronic illnesses, including congestive heart failure. It is estimated that successful utilization of remote patient monitoring technologies could reduce the costs of chronic disease by nearly $200 billion over 25 years by reducing emergency department visits, hospitalizations, hospital readmissions, and other health care services.

The Center for Technology and Aging remote patient monitoring diffusion grants program is designed to expand use of remote patient monitoring technologies that help improve chronic disease management and post-acute care of older adults.