Easy-to-use home telemonitoring solution allows caregivers to monitor their patients much more frequently than with traditional methods

Easy-to-use home telemonitoring solution.

Established in 1974, Camellia Home Health and Hospice has 27 home health locations across the southeastern United States of Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. The company also provides hospice care, and opened two licensed and certified hospices covering 26 Mississippi counties. Camellia makes users of both traditional and cutting-edge technology and now provides the CareCompanion home telemonitoring system to their patients. The telemonitoring system has already been introduced in southern Mississippi and the service will be expanded to other areas.

The CareCompanion home telemonitoring solution features an easy-to-use, self-contained home unit that can be customised to a patient’s specific needs and issues. At its most basic configuration, the system reminds clients to take medication and asks questions about their condition. All interaction between the patient and the monitor takes place via a simple touch screen. After the patient completes a session, the system automatically delivers its data to Camellia through the patient’s home telephone line. The patient’s caregiver and physician are given secure access to monitor results and are alerted if the patient’s responses fall outside of a range pre-set by the caregiver. A variety of vital signs monitors can be added, depending on the patient’s specific needs, including a blood pressure monitor, weight scale, pulse oximeter, glucometer and many more. In addition, Camellia can supply its patients with videophones so they can see their caregivers in real time.

Camellia offers the telemonitoring solution to any patient who will benefit from the service, regardless of the patient’s disease state. Patients who most benefit from home telemonitoring are those with a chronic disease, such as congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes.

“We chose the CareCompanion solution for its ease of use, its clean look and because it allows us to programme our own independent questions and reminders for our patients,” says Director of Clinical Services Libby Neimeyer. The Camellia programme was monitoring 14 patients within its first two weeks and expects to monitor 60 patients from four locations by the end of May.