Home health monitoring refers to the use of artificial intelligence and IT in the monitoring of a patient’s health at the comfort of their home. From the information obtained, the healthcare provider then identifies the appropriate action to be taken. This system of monitoring operates using devices that are given to the patients.
These devices are used in measuring the patient’s vital signs. They include blood glucose levels, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The data collected on the vital signs is then transmitted to the healthcare givers. In addition to that, there are other devices that are used for purposes of communication. Healthcare givers use them to gather information on the symptoms, behavior, and mental state of the patients. They then send them feedback regarding their state and any other necessary advice.
Home health monitoring also allows for the monitoring of patients suffering from chronic conditions or diseases in the comfort of their homes. They are able to share their progress electronically with their healthcare givers. This way, the healthcare givers are able to keep track of their results. Patients who frequently visit the hospital are empowered to monitor their health in the comfort of their homes.
They are then required to send their detailed health information to their healthcare givers in real-time. They are also able to identify when there is a need for adjusting the treatments. It also enables them to take appropriate action early enough to avoid cases becoming acute necessitating costly emergency trips to the hospital and readmissions.
The gradual effect of employing this system of home health monitoring is that there has been a significant reduction in the cases of readmissions. This is because this system of monitoring allows for the discharge of particular patients from the hospital. This has been the case, especially for patients suffering from chronic conditions like diabetes, stroke, or heart failure.
Additionally, the benefits of home health monitoring include reducing the period of stay of a patient at the hospital, reducing the cases of emergencies, and ultimately, the cases of death. In areas where home health monitoring is being applied, most patients report that they are satisfied with the technology.
Factors considered when adopting a home health monitoring system
There are various factors that ought to be considered when adopting a home health monitoring system to ensure success. The ultimate goal is accuracy and efficiency in healthcare provision. These factors include:
- a) The technology to be used ought to be user-friendly in terms of both operation and impact on the patient.
b)The staff operating this technology ought to be trained properly and should be offered support when necessary.
- c) The healthcare givers should regularly engage with their patients on matters of the care plan to be implemented for better understanding.
- d) Patients ought to be educated continually on the use of technology for better outcomes and healthcare service delivery.
- e) The plan on service delivery as well as clinical workflow ought to be properly designed from the start.
- f) The healthcare providers should ensure that they employ the best practices as well as implementation standards at all times when implementing all electronic communications with their patients.
- g) A key point to note is that home health monitoring should not be applied to all patients. Healthcare providers ought to identify particular groups of patients who can undertake the home health monitoring program successfully. If this is applied to critically ill patients, the program will experience more fatalities making it unsuccessful. If this program is not applied selectively, the cost of maintaining and monitoring this program will be too high. This outweighs the earlier objective of home health monitoring of reducing healthcare costs.
