Carole Marks |
Health |
|
Carole Marks |
Health |
New Home Heart Monitoring System
Extends Lives, Reduces Costs
Congestive heart failure (CHF) patients now can have their vital signs read daily from the comfort of their homes-and they can do it themselves.
CHF refers to a condition when the entire heart, due to disease or mechanical fault in the valves, is not working effectively and the pumping action of the organ becomes inefficient. Symptoms may include breathlessness, fatigue, swelling of the lower extremities, loss of appetite, and wasting of the arm and leg muscles.
According to the American Heart Association, CHF affects more than five million people in the U.S. alone. Approximately 45 percent of all CHF patients return to the hospital within 90 days of discharge, and more than 250,000 will die from CHF this year.
The HomMed Monitoring System, developed by HomMed LLC, is a patient-friendly, cost-effective way of monitoring CHF patients in the comfort of their homes. Along with adherence to diet, medication and lifestyle changes, the system can have a dramatic effect on this rapidly growing disease. The system is simple for patients to use and costs as little as $6 per patient per day.
Unlike other home monitoring systems, the HomMed Monitoring System collects true clinical data on the patient's condition using two main components. The HomMed Sentry, which collects and transmits data from the patient, and the HomMed Observer, which receives the data, stores it and presents it to clinical personnel.
This unique home monitoring system can help:
• Decrease recidivism rates;
• Reduce or eliminate hospital visits;
• Reduce hospital and HMO costs;
• Maintain the patient in a comfortable lifestyle at home; and,
• Provide the patient's family with an increased sense of comfort and security.
How it works
Using the monitoring system takes only three minutes a day. A user-friendly voice announces to the patient at a set time each day that it's time to take vital signs, and guides the patient through the procedure, ensuring timely and complete data entry. The patient initiates only three key touches to collect vital signs, using the following:
• The monitor, which includes a custom designed blood pressure cuff that easily slips on with one hand, and a finger probe to
measure heart rate, systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure, and oxygen saturation;
• A digital thermometer which tracks the patient's temperature; and,
• A digital scale which measures the patient's weight for early detection of fluid buildup.
Once vital signs are collected, data are transmitted to the HomMed Observer, a central station computer located at a hospital or a HomMed facility that reports daily to the hospital. The HomMed Observer receives the vital signs and displays them in a quick, easy-to-read format. The Observer then stores the data and monitors trends on the patient's condition for up to six months. Results can then be correlated with current medications.
Identifying potential problems
More than just tracking a patient, the Observer also establishes an intervention system to immediately identify and respond to problems associated with CHF. Alarm parameters are set up for each vital sign and, if any sign falls outside those parameters, the clinician is notified immediately upon data transmission by a flashing red alert with the patient's reading.
"The HomMed System goes beyond the simple question-and-answer sessions currently available-our system provides real clinical data," said Herschel (Buzz) Peddicord, president/CEO of HomMed. "We have developed perhaps the most clinically effective way to manage CHF patients at home, and at the lowest cost."
HomMed LLC, a leader in home monitoring for disease management, is headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin. For more information, visit the company's website at www.hommed.com.