Tele-monitoring Program
Introduces Home-based Telemonitoring
Improving Patient Outcomes With Early Intervention
In-home monitoring devices help patients take a more active role in their health and stay connected to Firstat Home Healthcare and their physicians. Patients use wireless measurement devices to take their own vital signs and respond to personalized, clinician-directed surveys using the Philips TeleStation.
Designed to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and time-consuming telephone calls to physician’s offices
How it works:
Patients take their own vital sign measurements daily. They also respond to personalized, clinician-directed surveys, which can be customized to manage any disease. The vital signs are taken using small, wireless devices placed in the home. Results are automatically transmitted to a secure web-based server and directly into Firstat Nursing Services where nurses read the data. The in-home device also prompts patients to answer clinician-directed health and risk assessment survey questions.
A More Effective Approach to Managing Patients
FAQ
Q. Who pays for the Telemonitoring equipment?
A. Firstat pays for the equipment devices and all services. There are no charges to the patient, physician or CMS.
Q. Who oversees the data?
A. The Firstat Telehealth Clinical Director and nursing staff oversee the clinical data on a daily (7 days a week) basis.
Q. Will I be inundated with unnecessary reports and information?
A. No. You will not be burdened with paperwork. You will receive ONLY what you wish to see, when you want to see it. You make that determination.
Q. Is this a 24-hour emergency alert service?
A. No. This is a monitoring system designed to support a better-informed clinical decision-making process. It is not an emergency response system.
Q. Are all patients eligible for Telehealth?
A. No. Patients must be homebound Medicare patients able to learn how to correctly use the devices. They must have electricity and touch-tone phone service in their homes. A dedicated phone line is not required.
Q. Which patients should be enrolled?
A. The primary indication: Patients with cardiac, respiratory and/or diabetic disease processes. Also those with complex medical problems and a history of frequent hospitalizations.
B. Secondary indication: Patients with poor compliance with physician-prescribed treatment plans (including, but not limited to, self-reported measurements, diet, and/or medications).
Q. Who installs the TeleStation in the patient’s home?
A. Firstat’s nurses are responsible for the installation and patient education of the monitoring system.
A consistent monitoring schedule gives the physician targeted information and greater control over patient care while easing the strain on the office staff.
To learn more about this service for Medicare homecare patients please contact Firstat at 407-629-1100.
