Cleveland Clinic, Microsoft project: Home health tracks chronic conditions better
The use of at-home medical devices to connect doctors and patients via the internet can help patients and their physicians work more efficiently together to manage chronic conditions, according to research at Cleveland Clinic.
In December 2008, Cleveland Clinic and the Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft collaborated on a pilot project that paired the hospital's EMR system with the software company's online HealthVault service to monitor patients' health conditions.
More than 250 participants enrolled—26 percent with diabetes, 6 percent with heart failure and 68 percent with hypertension—making it the first physician-driven pilot project in the country to follow multiple chronic diseases in a clinical setting, according to the provider and the firm.
The project found a “significant change” in the average number of days between physician office visits for patients. Diabetic and hypertensive patients were able to make doctor's office visits less often, increasing the number of days between appointments by 71 percent and 26 percent respectively, indicating that patients had better control of their conditions, according to the researchers.
Heart failure patients, however, visited their doctors more often, decreasing the number of days between visits by 27 percent, indicating that patients were advised to see their healthcare provider in a timely manner.
"Although more research is certainly needed, the results of this observational study are promising, suggesting that at-home medical devices can help patients and doctors better track chronic conditions, coordinate treatment schedules, manage medication regimens and schedule timely interventions," said C. Martin Harris, MD, chief information officer at Cleveland Clinic.
In the Cleveland Clinic-Microsoft pilot project, participants used at-home heart rate monitors, glucometers, scales, pedometers or blood pressure monitors, depending on each patient's disease. According to the researchers, the devices uploaded the patient's data to HealthVault–a Web-based data storage platform for patients–which then connected to the patient's personal health record at Cleveland Clinic (MyChart, by Epic Systems) and the EMR system used by the patient's healthcare providers at Cleveland Clinic (MyPractice, also by Epic Systems).
In December 2008, Cleveland Clinic and the Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft collaborated on a pilot project that paired the hospital's EMR system with the software company's online HealthVault service to monitor patients' health conditions.
More than 250 participants enrolled—26 percent with diabetes, 6 percent with heart failure and 68 percent with hypertension—making it the first physician-driven pilot project in the country to follow multiple chronic diseases in a clinical setting, according to the provider and the firm.
The project found a “significant change” in the average number of days between physician office visits for patients. Diabetic and hypertensive patients were able to make doctor's office visits less often, increasing the number of days between appointments by 71 percent and 26 percent respectively, indicating that patients had better control of their conditions, according to the researchers.
Heart failure patients, however, visited their doctors more often, decreasing the number of days between visits by 27 percent, indicating that patients were advised to see their healthcare provider in a timely manner.
"Although more research is certainly needed, the results of this observational study are promising, suggesting that at-home medical devices can help patients and doctors better track chronic conditions, coordinate treatment schedules, manage medication regimens and schedule timely interventions," said C. Martin Harris, MD, chief information officer at Cleveland Clinic.
In the Cleveland Clinic-Microsoft pilot project, participants used at-home heart rate monitors, glucometers, scales, pedometers or blood pressure monitors, depending on each patient's disease. According to the researchers, the devices uploaded the patient's data to HealthVault–a Web-based data storage platform for patients–which then connected to the patient's personal health record at Cleveland Clinic (MyChart, by Epic Systems) and the EMR system used by the patient's healthcare providers at Cleveland Clinic (MyPractice, also by Epic Systems).