A two-year study by Intermountain Health and CareCentra demonstrates that continuous AI-driven monitoring of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma significantly reduces costs and hospitalizations. The Intermountain COPD and Adult Asthma Remote Evaluation (iCARE) study found that AI monitoring resulted in reduced total cost of care by 57 percent, hospitalizations by 50 percent, and emergency department visits by 20 percent.
The research documented 1,200 patients at five Intermountain Health hospitals in Utah over a two-year period, addressing what researchers describe as a critical structural gap in medicine: discrete episodes of care that leave patients unmonitored during weeks or months between physician visits. According to Dr. Peter Crossno, principal investigator and senior medical director of respiratory care at Intermountain Health, “For patients with chronic lung disease, that gap is where exacerbations occur.”
Each patient carried a digital spirometer measuring lung function, with some also carrying pulse oximeters, sensor-equipped inhaler jackets, and fitness trackers. Together, these generated more than 11.5 million data points—an average of approximately 24 signals per patient per day—fed into CareCentra’s AI platform. The system operated on a tiered intervention logic: AI first detected early risk signals and deployed behavioral nudges, then escalated to pulmonary disease navigators when data indicated imminent exacerbation.
Results were striking: total cost of care fell 57 percent per patient per year (from $36,837 to $15,899) across all payers. Hospital admissions were cut in half, emergency department visits declined 20 percent, and observation stay costs decreased by 73 percent. Patient engagement defied conventional expectations about digital adoption among older populations, with daily active use at 54 percent overall and rising with age—patients in their eighties showed the highest engagement rates at 62.5 percent for daily active use. Before the study, each navigator managed approximately 30 patients; with AI assistance, a single navigator now helps monitor nearly 220 patients.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/26/06/g52959105/intermountain-health-research-study-finds-ai-technology-is-a-game-changer-for-the-treatment-of-two