Daily In-Home "Checkups" Help Keep Area Residents Healthier
-- Former Nurse Who Had Been Hospitalized Monthly Now Stays Healthy At Home --
Before Mary began using the telemonitoring system, she had numerous emergency room visits and hospital readmissions.
"Since Mary has a number of chronic conditions, takes 18 different medications and has had frequent trips to the emergency room, her health status needed daily supervision," explains Bobbi Simons, a nurse with Home and Hospice Advantage.
To keep a close watch on Mary's CHF, COPD and blood pressure, the health care agency installed a Honeywell HomMed® Health Monitoring System in her apartment. With Mary using the new telemonitoring technology, the agency receives her vital signs every day. Within minutes, her readings are automatically and securely transmitted to the clinicians at Home and Hospice Advantage and, if they notice even the slightest abnormalities, they take action. Or, if she fails to take her vital signs, the agency is also alerted and can take appropriate action.
The Honeywell HomMed Health Monitoring System is the latest technology that enables Home and Hospice Advantage to deliver high-quality care to its patients by providing daily, clinical information regarding trends in their patients' health status.
"When I first saw Mary, she was in poor health and I was worried about her," says Simons. "Now, we've been able to stabilize her vital signs, control her high blood pressure and do medication management to help keep her feeling better and healthier. Most importantly, she hasn't been hospitalized once since we installed the monitor."
Before Mary began using the telemonitor, she typically was hospitalized monthly due to complications related to her CHF. Some months she visited the hospital two or three times."
I think it's great," says Mary, a former nurse's aide who traveled throughout
Telemonitoring Technology Important as Population Ages
At 80, Mary represents 12.3 percent of the
As this population increases, so does the demand for medical services and health care providers, while the number of registered nurses declines.
When patients' vital signs are taken daily, irregularities can be caught before they become full-fledged problems. Daily monitoring helps eliminate the two or three-day gaps of information that typically occur between home visits. Patients also become more aware of their health status and understand the effects diet, activity and other factors have on their health.
"With the telemonitoring system, we have been able to more effectively manage our patients' chronic diseases and focus on prevention and wellness, thereby reducing hospitalizations and emergency room visits," says
The Honeywell HomMed model of care has been proven highly effective by the largest independent study conducted on in-home telemonitoring in the nation. The study, conducted by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP), a healthcare data services company, concluded that Honeywell HomMed-monitored patients experience fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits than unmonitored patients.
The SHP study reported that CHF patients monitored by Honeywell HomMed experienced a 56.5 percent reduction in hospitalizations. The study also revealed a 50 percent reduction in hospitalizations for COPD patients who were using the Honeywell HomMed System.
How the Honeywell HomMed System Works
Every day, in just three minutes, the Honeywell HomMed Health Monitoring System collects a variety of vital signs such as weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. Peripherals, such as a glucose meter, peak flow meter to measure lung function, and a PT/INR system to record blood-clotting times can be attached for specialized patient care.
The system can also gather subjective health information, which further assists in evaluating the patient's condition. The monitor can be programmed to ask up to 10 questions in
11 languages. Question sets can be tailored specifically for each patient based on his or her diagnosis. For example, a patient with high blood pressure might be asked, "Are you experiencing any dizziness today?"
The data are transmitted via a telephone line or digital wireless technology for review by clinicians at Home and Hospice Advantage. Each patient has a pre-programmed set of limits for their individual vital sign readings. If those limits are broken or if the patient fails to take their vital signs, an alert appears on the computer screen. This allows the clinician to quickly prioritize which patients require immediate attention. With this system, Home and Hospice Advantage clinicians can detect and address even the slightest abnormalities before they become serious, preventing emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
For more information, call your local Home and Hospice Advantage office:
Editor's Note: Based in