Telehealth gives at-home patients their own doctors office

New York's Northwell Health Home Care Network has announced its partnership with New Jersey-based Health Recovery Solutions (HRS) to offer an extensive telehealth platform to its home-care patients.

Through the partnership with HRS, Northwell home-care patients will now receive the new system that includes Bluetooth-enabled tablets, a moveable video camera, blood-pressure and digital weight monitors, pulse oximeter and stethoscopes. These devices are able to transmit patient vital signs in real time to their clinicians and offer videoconferencing capabilities.

“It gives me comfort that somebody is checking on me; if my nurse sees something that's not normal, I know she will reach out," said 100-year-old Bernard Feinstein. "I have a wonderful relationship with my nurse and all the doctors in this program. I feel very blessed to be a part of this program."

What makes the system a step up is the mobile aspect of all tools included. Clinicians benefit from having remote access to patients at any time as a way to check on patients. The telehealth system allows clinicians to make changes in care or recommendations at the push of a button.  

“The Northwell Health Home Care Network is committed to using technology to enhance patient outcomes while increasing patients' involvement in their own health,” said Diane Asquino, RN, the agency's director of patient services. "Telemonitoring is a wonderful tool to help reduce re-hospitalization. It engages the patient in managing their health by helping them to identify symptoms early. If they think something is wrong, they can notify their physicians immediately to reduce hospitalizations."