I got a scary call yesterday from my mother. It was morning, and she was about to leave for her 3-months check-up with her specialist at Johns Hopkins. She fell, could not get up, and had to crawl to her walker. She told me she did not black out or trip, and had no idea why she fell. Later that day, her check-up showed no problems, but I can’t help but think that daily “early morning” monitoring could be of great value to her.
There are several pilot projects being conducted with health-care providers and retirement communities to see if new high-tech devices (Intel Health Guide, GE QuietCare) can help doctors monitor aging patients so that simple health problems do not escalate and lead to costly hospital admissions – especially repeat hospital visits due to chronic conditions, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. We all know that early detection of cancer has cut cancer rates dramatically. Why not focus on early detection of deteriorating chronic diseases? Did you know that Medicare spends more than $12 billion a year on “potentially preventable repeat hospital admissions?” By 2050, there will be 33% more persons over age 65, so Medicare costs will only increase unless specific ways to contain cost can be found.
How does the pilot program work for participants ?
- The device is set to blink with a blue light (and a friendly voice) at the same time every morning to prompt the person to do their monitoring (no login; each machine is programmed for that individual)
- The patient straps on a blood pressure cuff attached to his/her machine, presses a button and waits for the cuff to inflate. His/her pressure is recorded and transmitted to her clinic.
- Employees at the clinic monitor the readings and alert them if there is a problem.
- Other things monitored are weight (critical for indicating congestive heart failure )and blood sugar (critical for problems with diabetes)
- The “touch screen” also provides a link to informational videos related to the data being transmitted. If BP reading is high, the patient is linked to a short video with tips on how to reduce BP.
- There are also motion sensors placed under a bed (to ensure a person has gotten up in the morning), and wall sensors to tell if a person is moving about normally.
The devices being piloted are built by Intel in a partnership with General Electric. The companies say they are focusing on these products because “more than 80% of health-care spending focuses on patients with one of more chronic diseases.”
What are the challenges in implementing/utilizing such technology, moving forward?
- The biggest obstacle is that Medicare and private insurers generally do not reimburse for the technology, and the devices are expensive (about $100/month to rent).
- Also, insurance plans do not typically reimburse doctors for treating patients on data sent remotely.
- Some patient advocates worry that the remote data might be substituted for direct medical care. Organizers of the pilot say that is not one of the goals. They counter that all of the collected data can be used by the doctor during a visit as a starting point, to delve deeper into the patient’s health concerns.
I hope these devices will come to be commonly used by the elderly. We all understand the benefits of preventive care. These high tech devices and monitoring by health-care professionals can help the elderly with chronic diseases become proactive about their quality of health/life on a daily basis.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111602900.html
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder if your mom’s blood pressure dropped when she stood up. My dad had that and collapsed. If you took his sitting blood pressure, it was fine. But when he stood, it plummeted. He was also dehydrated, which I’m sure contributed to his positional low blood pressure.
I think any way that seniors can be monitored in their homes is great.
Thank you. You are so right. I hadn’t thought about the positional blood pressure, but the dehydration is such a challenge, especially with all her medications. I’ve tried to give her tips to drinking more water/fluids but haven’t been successful.
Thanks for sharing!