Health and Fitness
October 31, 2002
System keeps tabs on patients at home
CARMEL - Hilda Wilson of Carmel has had a pacemaker since 1973. Now at the age of 91, she has begun having trouble breathing when walking long distances or travelling uphill.
Through Nightingale Home Healthcare, Wilson has received constant care over the past two months, but she hasn't had to schedule doctor appointments or worry about getting a ride.
The carmel based agency helps to provide physical therapy for patients, but as an added feature, it offers an in-home telemonitoring system free of charge to patients with Medicare. The system provides daily analysis of vital signs to a monitor nurse, who can check and compare results on a daily basis.
"I'm sure the system would relieve a lot of people's minds and worries," Wilson said. "Anything that helps me keep going until my time is up I don't worry about.
The machine checks vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation level, weight, heart rate, temperature and blood/sugar levels. It can even check the heart rhythm of patients through their thumb pulses.
The system has provided Wilson with some peace of mind. She has also gained strength in her arms and legs with exercise program she has been given, thanks to the monitoring of the system.
"I have been very satisfied with it," Wilson said. "I feel like machine has been doing me some good, or i wouldn't see any sense using it."
To use the device patients place a finger probe on their finger and put a pressure cuff. if someone is frail or bedridden, a family member can help. Still the patient or a family member must be able to help for the patient to use the machine.
The machine will sound a speaking alarm in the morning for Wilson and let her know it is time for daily vital signs. She puts on pressure cuffs and follows the directions given by the machine. each machine has 25 questions that can be manipulated to a patient's medical conditions and can provide nurses with information on daily health. The whole process takes Wilson about 3 minutes to complete.
Lieann Wade, a registered nurse and monitor nurse for Nightingale Home Healthcare, starts her day by reviewing all the vital signs transmitted to the office by machines such as the one in Wilson's home. Currently Wilson reviews vitals for 17 people, but has had as many as 25 patients to keep tab on.
"I review the vital signs, and if they are out of normal ranges, I call the patient first." Wade said. I follow up with a call to the case manager, physician or both. Sometimes I get instruction from a doctor, or they tell me to keep an eye on the patient."
Wade keeps an eye on her patients whether or not she is making calls.. Her afternoons generally consists of visiting patients who have the monitoring system in their homes.
Some patients receive daily visits depending on their condition. The first week requires three visits, but after that, visits are limited to one to three per week.
"If we are just monitoring blood pressure, I would normally visit once a week," Wade said. "If someone is unstable or needs a dressing changed, then I show up more."
According to Wade a good candidate is someone with a history of heart or respiratory problems such as congestive heart failure or emphysema, or some one a doctor is trying to regulate the heart rate and adjust the medications.
Someone is monitoring the information seven days a week. This allows congestive-heart failure patients retaining fluid to have their weight gain reported to a physician. patients are safer because the information is being reviewed daily, and the cost is cheaper for the same reason, according to Wade.
"People get daily monitoring of their vitals they wouldn't get otherwise," Wade said. "hopefully, we can see something and have it be addressed before someone has to go to the hospital. This helps reduce not only hospital admissions, but trips to the doctor as well."
|
