How an Alabama Rural Health Clinic Brings Patients Closer to Care

A Community Defined by Distance

Mark Ellis, DO, runs Dale Medical Group, a rural health clinic (RHC) in Lower Alabama affiliated with Dale Medical Center, an acute care hospital. The region has been designated a medically underserved area since the 1970s. Dr. Ellis’ patient population splits roughly evenly across Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance, with a large share of elderly patients living long distances from the practice.

That distance created two connected problems. Patients managing chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) couldn't easily get to the practice for regular check-ins, and patients worried about a symptom had no option but to make a long trip for an in-person exam, call in to get help multiple times a day, or wait until a problem became serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Why Dr. Ellis Sought Out Prevounce

Concerned about the wellbeing of his patients, Dr. Ellis began looking for a remote patient monitoring (RPM) partner who could help him keep closer tabs on those patients with chronic disease without requiring more trips into the office. The search for an RPM vendor came down to fit as much as features: Prevounce's pricing model was straightforward from the start, and the Prevounce team was responsive and transparent in answering his questions throughout the evaluation.

Built Around a Rural Reality

Today, RPM at Dr. Ellis' practice runs on a lean in-house model: One nurse manages the program three days a week, tracking blood pressure, glucose, and COPD readings and following up directly with patients when something in their vitals indicate a potential concern. The rest of the clinical staff shares monitoring duties around their existing patient load on the other days.

The RPM program has been especially valuable for Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) patients, who pay no coinsurance for the service.

Benefits for Patients

Patients who previously needed to call the office now have a nurse following up directly on their RPM device readings, which Dr. Ellis says has provided them with a lot of reassurance. Many patients have indicated that they feel safer knowing someone is watching and assessing their vitals.

In addition, improved clinical outcomes have followed: better-controlled hemoglobin A1c among diabetic patients, better blood pressure control among hypertensive patients, and better-managed COPD. Readings also help Dr. Ellis’ team determine quickly whether a patient requires a visit to the emergency room or their condition can be managed safely at home.

Benefits for the Practice

The RPM program has lightened the load on Dr. Ellis’ staff. Before RPM, anxious patients calling about a symptom or a reading could tie up team members throughout the day. Centralizing high-need patients into an RPM program with a dedicated nurse cut most of those calls. Dr. Ellis describes the shift as an easy one: workload dropped simply by moving those high-need patients into the program.

RPM has also strengthened the practice financially, generating approximately $5,500 in monthly revenue from reimbursement for the roughly 80 patients currently enrolled in the program.

What's Next for Dale Medical Center

Dale Medical Center's hospital administration has taken notice of the results from Dr. Ellis's practice. Hospital leadership is now planning to expand RPM to other clinics across the acute care hospital system, with Dr. Ellis expected to spearhead that expansion by explaining the program and presenting its impressive results to other clinics.