Home Telemonitoring Technology of the future & the future is now!

Article submitted by Sonya D. Neumann, RN BSN from Physicians Home Health Care. For more information call 1-888-399-0422 or www.physicianshomehealth.com

The number of people turning 60 years of age each day is 7,918, which equals 330 every hour. In 1946 the U.S. population was 141 million. Today, it is at about 298 million. What does the aging and growing population mean to health care access and effectiveness? With the aging population the health care community is seeking solutions to meet the demands. These health care demands are for worker quantity and the effectiveness of treatments.

Home telemonitoring has proven to be one of the solutions for community based health care. It not only allows close monitoring of a patient's vital signs and disease which speaks to the demand of effective health care but it has also proven to allow home health care agencies to care for more patients with less staff.

Home telemonitoring is extremely easy to use. A nurse will bring a monitor to your home, set it up and demonstrate its use. The monitor needs electricity and a phone line to be operational. At a preset time the monitor guides the user through the process of collecting their vital signs. The monitor can be set to measure weight, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels. Once collected, health status information is automatically and securely sent to the home care agency office where the nurse reviews the information daily. The nurse will call the patient if the data falls outside of the set parameter trends. The nurse will also call if the data is not received. The nurse will contact your physician if further intervention is needed.

Home telemonitoring helps to identify small changes in health status earlier. It gives patients and their caregivers peace of mind knowing that a medical professional is monitoring their health. Home telemonitoring educates, encourages and motivates individuals to take better care of themselves and lead a healthier lifestyle. There is no cost to Medicare eligible patients who are referred to a participating home health agency.