York Hospital Home Care Offers New Technology

"Mrs. K" communicates with a nurse in Home Care everyday, but the nurse isn't visiting with her at home, on the phone or even on Facebook(!). How can this be? No, this isn't meant to be our version of Twenty Questions. It's our way of introducing you to the new technology available to patients at York Hospital Home Care. The new "Health Buddy®" Telehealth system is a remote disease management monitoring solution which utilizes a small, easy-to-use, in-home communication device to connect clinicians and patients with chronic diseases on a daily basis.

The "Health Buddy®" Telehealth system serves as the interface between patients at home and York Hospital Home Care providers when they are not present in the patient’s home and can signal situations that need intervention. Staff monitor patient sessions and relay information so as to be able to proactively intervene before a patient’s condition worsens. This can prevent unnecessary emergency visits to the hospital and doctors’ offices, or other costly medical venues.
How does it work?

Let’s say we have a patient who has lived with congestive heart failure for many years. In order to manage this disease he must be vigilant every day in order to avoid serious complications. York Hospital Home Care is helping him do this with the Health Buddy®, which sends diagnosis-specific education to the patient via a small in-home device. About the size of a small desk radio, the “Health Buddy®" Telehealth system is installed in the patient’s home using a cord connected to the telephone. This connection allows patient health data to be sent via telephone line to York Hospital Home Care where parameters have been set. Each session transmission takes only a few minutes. The patient’s “Buddy” asks eight to ten questions each day about his well-being and probes his knowledge of symptoms and self-care. The patient then answers these questions using just four buttons, and based on his answers, all subsequent questions address gaps in the patient’s knowledge. The whole process allows the patient to stop and really assess how they’re feeling. “Am I short of breath, do I have swollen ankles, and what does it really mean?” The system certainly empowers the patient to take a more active role, leading to improved care management, enhanced self-management…and ultimately improved outcomes.

The Health Buddy® also takes daily vital signs from a weight scale, blood pressure cuff, and pulse oximetry, and provides our Home Health Care team up-to-the-minute health information that, if not available, would go undetected until the next visit. This provides clinicians with the ability to intervene the moment a patient’s condition shows signs of worsening. Early intervention, which includes timely communication with the patient’s physician, is key in preventing unnecessary trips to the hospital for patients whenever possible.

York Hospital Home Care Lead Elizabeth Farnham, RN BSN MSB, comments, “Nine out of 10 people prefer home care over institutional care. Home Care merges compassionate care with the latest in health-care technology. The new "Health Buddy®" Telehealth system is an example of technology that encourages independence for those living with chronic health conditions, while keeping families together.”

If you have any questions about the "Health Buddy®" Telehealth system or Home Care services, please call York Hospital Home Care at (207) 351-2194 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting(207) 351-2194end_of_the_skype_highlighting, email homecare@yorkhospital.com or visit www.yorkhospital.com/services_homecare.cfm.