Alternate-Site and Home-Use IT

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare (Boston), and EMC Corp. (Hopkinton, MA) have announced a collaboration to study how EMC's employees diagnosed with hypertension can better manage their health through proactive monitoring and education. EMC is the first company to participate in SmartBeat, designed by the Center for Connected Health, which uses a wireless blood pressure cuff and communicator and an Internet-based feedback system to aid employees volunteering for the study to self-manage their high blood pressure. Approximately 400 U.S.-based EMC employees with hypertension or prehypertension will participate in the program on a volunteer basis. Participants from several EMC locations, which are selected at random, use home blood pressure monitors that store and transmit data, and an Internet-based self-management system. All participating employees can securely and confidentially share personal data with their healthcare providers, and have access to personalized educational content with data-driven feedback. Currently, the program's blood pressure device is manufactured by Omron Healthcare (Bannockburn, IL), the data communication from the device is facilitated by BodyMedia Inc. (Pittsburgh), and the portal is operated by VisionTree (San Diego).

The Genesis DM telehealth device, manufactured by Honeywell HomMed (Brookfield, WI), is a telehealth vital signs-monitor that measures objective and subjective patient data, creating a complete picture of a chronic patient's health from the comfort of his or her home. The device provides complete remote patient biometric and symptom evaluation by measuring heart rate, blood pressure, weight, pulse oximetry, and blood glucose readings, and provides customizable subjective disease-related queries. The Genesis DM, which is used by patients suffering from a variety of chronic conditions, enables physicians and clinicians to remotely monitor the vital signs of patients on a daily basis in a way that may detect the onset of negative outcomes that may result in early rehospitalization.

The RP-7 remote presence robotic system, by InTouch Health (Santa Barbara, CA), enables a medical specialist to be in two places at once–virtually. Under direct control by a physician seated at a specialized computer called a ControlStation, the RP-7 can move untethered, enabling the physician to freely interact with patients, family members, and hospital staff from any place at any time. The 5-ft, 5-in. robot displays the doctor's face on a 15-in. screen and is guided by a joystick, emulating an on-site experience. With two-way cameras, microphones, and wireless technology, the robot provides real-time audio and video with complete mobility around the hospital. The remote presence technology enables an expert physician to perform many key activities when it is not possible to be physically present at the hospital.

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