Home healthcare technologies will take on an increasingly larger role in healthcare delivery as the silver tsunami of an aging population strains the system. And if more consumers accept preventive care can be easily done at home.
It is important to understand that home healthcare technologies are leveraged by clinicians in home healthcare settings for home healthcare patients and that healthcare technologies home or home health are diagnostic and/or screening tools that can be used in nonclinical settings for this purpose of understanding overall health status.
Home health technology is any preventive care technology tool that promotes health. This includes tools such as blood pressure cuffs, weight scales, thermometers, and other screening tools that can be used to assess biometric values.
It also includes tools like telemedicine platforms that facilitate communication between doctors and patients, smart watches that monitor heart rate, and other technologies used to manage chronic disease such as respirators and CPAP devices or other remote monitoring devices. Previously, many of these improvements were limited to Medicare coverage and senior use.
Today they are much more widely used. A big reason for this is the availability of smart capabilities like Bluetooth support (for example, a Bluetooth-enabled digital scale or a digital blood glucose meter that can measure total cholesterol, glucose, and blood sugar). triglycerides and transfer this information to individual health records).
“The greater value in smarter tools is that they can alert individuals or their doctors to potential health problems,” said Travis Rush, CEO of Reperio, a technology provider home biometric screening said. “One of the most obvious and tangible examples of this is technology that detects elevated blood sugar, a warning sign of prediabetes or diabetes.
He continued: “Since one in four young people has diabetes but doesn’t know it until they get to the hospital in an emergency, it’s important to have this capability in one tool. amazing. “Also, because hospitals are often understaffed, sometimes they can’t admit patients right away.”
Healthcare IT News sat down with Rush to discuss these home healthcare issues and technologies.
Q. You suggest healthcare delivery organization leaders need to rethink healthcare delivery by 2023 by looking at advancements in healthcare technology at home. Why?
ONE. The de facto health care delivery system we rely on today is predicated on outdated standards and assumptions. For example, just because every insured individual is offered an annual physical as part of their benefit doesn’t mean every individual takes advantage of the offer.
In fact, fewer people than ever see their primary care doctor on a regular basis – even if they have insurance.
That may not seem like a big deal, but the reality is that many Americans are struggling with uncontrolled or undetected chronic health conditions. Current studies show that 60% of Americans live with at least one chronic condition such as high blood pressure, which increases the risk of disease and preventable events such as heart attack.
But even more worryingly, many Americans are unaware of the state of their health. For example, 96 million Americans have diabetes, but 80% don’t know they have it.
Along with this problem is a shortage of doctors – Americans are having a harder time securing a doctor’s appointment than they were 10 years ago. Through no fault of our current and overworked healthcare workforce, many patients are left in limbo while waiting weeks for an appointment.
As a result, inconvenience is causing many seemingly healthy patients to skip face-to-face visits unless they are experiencing physical pain or obvious symptoms.
The confluence of all these trends is a call to action for all parties involved. We need to reframe our collective thinking about preventive care. We need to adopt integrated approaches to healthcare that benefit both patients and providers, such as turning to telehealth for preoperative consultation or by using Use home health screening technologies as an alternative to traditional, face-to-face care.
Health metrics derived from home health screenings enable stakeholders to better understand people’s overall health and wellbeing, while proactively reducing costly chronic diseases.
Collectively, a focus on preventive care, rather than reactive care, is central to our physical and economic survival. Chronic diseases cost the United States an estimated $3.7 trillion each year, including lost economic productivity.
Q. What are some of the most important advances and why are they important?
Some examples come to mind here.
One of the biggest advancements in home technology is the range of accessible mobile apps that anyone can download. The best apps, such as weight loss apps that allow users to ‘chat’ with a health coach, are engaging and effective – and can be important tools for helping high-risk individuals achieve their goals. Take the necessary steps to prevent illness.
In terms of home screening, the ability to measure blood sugar and cholesterol at home and then process those blood samples on the spot with a glucometer is remarkable. Although your doctor’s office can oversee the screening process, the results often take days or weeks to process.
The most advanced at-home screenings can provide results and recommendations in less than an hour. Having actionable insights is crucial to engaging individuals who may be unaware of their health condition.
Health problems like high cholesterol or high blood sugar — two risk factors for more serious conditions like heart disease or diabetes — aren’t always obvious. Patients can skip the annual checkup if they feel fine, because it’s inconvenient to go to an appointment or lab to draw blood. By empowering patients to get tested when it’s convenient for them, they’ll be more likely to participate.
Bluetooth capability is also an important advance for home screening tools: Data measurement is great, but data measurement can be transmitted remotely to a center where the data can be processed. and aggregate with other metrics (e.g. baseline average for height, weight, blood sugar) and make real-time assessments and recommendations is a next-level capability. according to.
Q. How can home healthcare technology advances help ease the burden on EMS services?
ONE. At-home screening tools can reduce stress on emergency services by raising awareness of health problems, such as elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, and obesity. All of these factors are controllable risk factors for emergency care that an individual may not be aware of without screening.
When individuals become aware of their real health risks or growing health problems, it is often a wake-up call that they need to get serious about improving their health. Maybe they need a closer look at their diet or exercise routine, or maybe their problem is serious enough to warrant discussing other interventions with their primary care physician. .
We only need to look back at our recent past, in the first half of 2020, when emergency rooms were overwhelmed, but more than one in four patients missed preventive care appointments, the majority being because they don’t want to risk exposure and getting sick.
While that’s understandable, the reduction in preventive care may have led to a spike in serious but preventable diseases. For example, according to the American Association for Cancer Research, between March and December 2020, the United States saw an 11% increase in patients diagnosed with inoperable or inoperable cancer. metastatic cancer compared to the same period in 2019.
With that in mind, let’s revisit a condition like diabetes. Studies show that one in four people do not know they have it. But if an individual goes through a simple blood glucose screening and is told that elevated blood sugar means they need further testing, the person is informed: They can choose to see doctor for further instructions or omit information.
Chances are they will choose to act on it. This little piece of information can save that individual from one or more urgent care visits and relieve stress on overworked healthcare workers.
Q. How can home healthcare technology advances help organizations focus on proactive prevention?
ONE. This is an important question, as healthcare costs are rising rapidly and seemingly uncontrollably in many parts of the country.
One thing we should consider is how to take advantage of high technology when we are not having a health emergency. The innovative solutions we rely on during the peak of the pandemic – like home medical equipment and telehealth.
In 2020, the pandemic has forced healthcare leaders and organizations to deploy many tools or innovations at home. Not all of them are winners, but we can’t lose sight of embracing technology to enhance health care and eliminate existing inequalities.
Ultimately, home health technologies can help organizations empower their employees to participate in preventive care, which can help them avoid higher treatment costs later on. It’s no secret that chronic health problems, including preventable conditions like Type 2 diabetes, cost organizations dearly, between reduced productivity and absenteeism. .
Encouraging patients to get involved and improve their own health starts with meeting them at their level. Most people want to improve their health, but they don’t want to use paid time off for preventive care.
There is no obvious immediate benefit to them in taking that action if they feel fine. We can push patients in the right direction by providing tools that are convenient and simple to interact with.
By equipping our workers with the tools they need and want to prevent illness, we are also showing that we care about their health and want to prevent disease.
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