November 1, 2007
St. John’s Home Health Offers Patients New Technology
St. John’s Home Health has begun using the most advanced remote monitoring and disease management system in the industry. The new technology will enable St. John’s Home Health’s patients with congestive heart failure or COPD to become more informed and actively engaged in managing their own healthcare.
With the TeleHealth program, patients’ vital signs, such as weight, blood pressure and pulse oximetry are collected via an easy-to-use electronic device in the home and then transmitted to the St. John’s Home Health office. In addition, the device will prompt patients to answer diagnosis-specific questions on an electronic appliance daily to receive targeted education about their condition in order to modify behavior for improved outcomes.
“A vital part of maintaining health is the patient’s investment in his or her own care,” said Mary Fetters, RN. “If the patient doesn’t understand his or her diagnosis or how to keep from exacerbating symptoms, the condition is likely to deteriorate rather than improve. The TeleHealth program engages and educates patients every day. It truly empowers them by putting their well-being into their own hands.”
By collecting vital signs as well as subjective patient information on a daily basis, St. John’s Home Health will be able to target care more successfully and focus on at-risk patients. Clinicians will gain a more complete picture of each patient’s progress. Additionally, the system will support clinicians to recognize possible problems before they become acute, saving the patient the physical and mental distress of exacerbated symptoms.
St. John's Regional Medical Center is a 367-bed facility, serving 19 counties in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas, providing state-of-the-art healthcare services, specializing in cardiology, orthopedics, neurosciences, and oncology. St. John’s has been leading the way in healthcare throughout the four-state area for more than 100 years and has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).