Life Changes

Earlier this year, Laura arrived back in Michigan to care for her 89-year-old mother, Beth, and stepfather, Allen. Her stepfather, recently released from critical care at Hillsdale Community Home Care, and Beth with her own chronic health issues, became a full-time care job for Laura. Despite much support from home care nurses, physical therapists, and in-office physician visits, the care for both parents was overwhelming.

We Need More Help

A home care nurse, Jennifer, recommended Health Numeric’s remote patient monitoring system for Laura’s “patients”. Thrilled with the idea of additional home care support, Laura and her parents worked to have the orders submitted and Health Numeric set up in their home.

Installation was simple and involved delivery of the monitoring equipment, the Bluetooth hub, and training on taking daily measurements. Laura and her parents were given instruction on the regimen, which included daily weight, blood pressure, and pulse/oxygen readings for both parents, with additional blood sugar readings morning and evening for Allen.

With the monitors and plan in place, Laura was able to help her parents take their readings. Each time they took a measurement, the readings were transmitted to the LifeView portal where the readings were documented and emailed to the individuals in their personalized Care Circle. For Beth and Allen, this included the home care organization, their doctor, and Laura. These results are also compiled monthly into a report that is also sent to the Care Circle.

A Missed Diagnosis

Through her morning pulse/oxygen readings, it was discovered that Beth had critically low oxygen levels upon waking. This discovery prompted an overnight oxygen test and a sleep study. These additional tests showed that her low oxygen levels were the cause of at least three of her medical issues, and all of them being treated with medications.

Her chronic fatigue, apathy, confusion, depression, fluid retention, and shortness of breath had been treated with anti-depressants, sleeping pills, and other medications for decades as chronic illnesses. Due to afternoon medical appointments, her oxygen levels always registered normal.

In Her Words

Laura writes:

“Had we not had this electronic monitoring, and recorded these readings upon rising in the mornings, this dangerous oxygen deprivation (daily readings from 73%-84%), along with sever sleep apnea, she [my mother] could have easily slipped into congestive heart failure. We had been treating symptoms, and now we can correct the cause. The remote patient monitoring system has been the most revealing, rewarding, and possibly life-saving process for all of us in our Care Circle.”

Is Remote Patient Monitoring Right for You?

The experts at Health Numeric are here to help you decide if your home health company or patient is right for remote monitoring. You can learn more about Health Numeric on our website, or get more details about the ROI of remote patient monitoring from our free white paper. Be sure to sign up to receive our newsletter for monthly articles and news on legislation, reimbursement changes, and successfully implementing a remote patient monitoring system.