Daily monitoring of chronic patients vitals and subjective data provides a method to spot patient trends before they become serious thus affording you the opportunity to take corrective measures to reduce emergency room visits and hospital readmissions. In a pay for performance (P4P) environment physicians, hospitals, home health agencies, and other caregivers will be required to show positive clinical results for our healthcare dollars provided by Medicare.

What types of patients are best suited for home Telemonitoring?

Home Telemonitoring is best suited for chronic patients that require daily or several times weekly monitoring of vitals i.e. weight, BP, blood sugar, SPo2, PT/INR, etc. along with subjective data to provide a clear assessment of their overall well being. Patients must have the cognitive ability to use the monitoring devices or a caregiver that can assist them and demonstrate a willingness to cooperate and use the devices routinely as directed.

How does home Telemonitoring fit in with my overall business operation?

Home Telemonitoring is a clinical/financial tool that provides for more productive use of your clinical and financial resources based on your current patient census, the types of patients your clinical personnel are caring for, and the number of clinical personnel on hand to care for these patients. Telemonitoring provides your clinician with the means to check "high flyer" patient vitals and subjective data daily to insure minor problems do not become major problems. As with any business your resource and allocation requirements can change from week to week and month to month. Home Telemonitoring can provide stability for the ups and downs of patient referrals and personnel turnover.

Are the devices difficult for the patients to use?

All devices are easy for the patient to use. The key is patient selection. Patients must have the cognitive ability to use the devices or a caregiver to assist them. Patients should also exhibit a willingness to cooperate and use the devices as directed.

Are the devices difficult to install?

Installation is easy. All monitoring devices are shipped pre-attached to our communication modem. In most cases installation requires nothing more than removing the telephone line from the wall outlet, inserting it into the "A" outlet on the communication modem, and inserting the pre-attached telephone cord in the "B" outlet on the communication modem into the wall outlet.

Who is provided access to patient data?

The agency clinical gatekeeper/administrator has access to all patient data. This data is encrypted, HIPAA compliant, web based, and accessible from any PC. The patient's physician is given access if approved by the HHA. Additionally reports can be emailed to the physician. Other individuals, caregivers, and loved ones can also be provided access with the approval of the HHA.

We have multiple agencies. How do we integrate a Telemonitoring program?

Your main office is setup just like a stand alone agency with a clinical gatekeeper/administrator having access to all patient information. Additionally the main office will have access to all patient information from other agency sites. The various agency sites also have a clinician gatekeeper/administrator with access limited to the patients being monitored by their particular location. This allows the primary gatekeeper to view all patient data to insure the program is operating as planned while allowing the individual sites the autonomy to manage their patients based on their knowledge of the patient's needs, the local patient census, and local clinical personnel availability.