Fauquier Hospital's Home Care Services department has instituted a new program that will help those with chronic conditions that need monitoring. Here is a video about the initiative.
The
Honeywell telemonitoring system links patients and healthcare providers, using
cellular technology to remotely collect, store and report timely, accurate
health anywhere. Patients or their caregivers take their vital sign
measurements daily as prescribed by their providers. They also respond to
personalized surveys customized to manage their disease. Vital signs —
including weight, blood pressure, pulse, glucose levels, ECG rhythm and others
— are taken using small, wireless devices placed in the home. These devices
automatically transmit readings securely and confidentially to caregivers at
Fauquier Health Home Care Services.
Daily
remote monitoring allows doctors, nurses and specialized Home Health staff to
see a clearer picture of the patient’s health over time. This information can
then be used in face-to-face visits with the patient and to tailor a more
thorough plan of treatment. If
the monitoring reveals a change in status, the medical team can take swift
action rather than wait for the next scheduled visit and risk serious
complications from undetected changes.
Seniors
and others with chronic health problems such as diabetes, congestive heart
failure and high blood pressure often wind up in hospital emergency rooms after
forgetting to take their medication or when their condition deteriorates at
home without family members realizing. When that deterioration is severe
enough, patients can be forced to move out of their homes into nursing
facilities, a costly and emotionally wrenching transition. But by closely
monitoring patients at home, some of these events can be avoided or managed
better.
In
addition to alerting patient and provider to a potential health emergency,
telemonitoring has been shown to reinforce positive behavior leading to
improved health. The technology’s real-time feedback helps patients
recognize the direct relationship between behavior (diet, correct use of
medication, etc) and outcomes, empowering them with the tools for
self-management.
Patients are able to play an
active role in their own health by taking and understanding their daily vital
signs and participating in meaningful information exchanges with clinicians.
This personal involvement, combined with education and timely clinical
intervention, helps patients regain and maintain optimum health.
As a Planetree-designated
patient-centered health system, Fauquier Health strongly emphasizes
collaboration with a patient’s family and other caregivers -- their care
partners.
Telemonitoring is not
designed to have doctors diagnose illnesses remotely. Instead, these tools are
intended to enhance monitoring of important vital signs to allow elderly or
infirm patients to get ahead of changes in their chronic conditions that could
tip them into a medical emergency. When telehealth is added to
traditional one-on-one consultation, Fauquier Health Home Care Services can
provide better patient care by providing thorough and timely readings
between visits; alerting patients and their caregivers to a potential problem
before it becomes an emergency; and involving and informing patients, their
families and their caregivers in the continuum of care.
For patients with a large and
supportive network of professional and family caregivers, telehealth is a
valuable tool for managing their illness and recovery at home. For a patient
living alone and without the means to pay for round-the-clock private care,
telehealth is, quite simply, a lifeline.
Across America, studies have demonstrated the
effectiveness of telehealth at home. A 2004 Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation report found that telemonitoring in the Home Health setting
decreased hospitalizations by 73%, hospital days of care by 78%, and ER visits
by 88%. Here are two more:
National
Association for Home Care & Hospice
- 71% reported improved patient satisfaction
- 88.6% saw improved patient outcomes
- 76.6% reduced unplanned hospitalizations
PricewaterhouseCoopers
- 72% reduction in E.R. visits
- 95% reduction in walk-in clinic visits]
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