If putting your loved one into a <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href= >nursing home</a> is not the right option for you. Perhaps, understanding and utilizing remote <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href= >in-home healthcare</a> would be a helpful addition to the care they are receiving. There are, of course, situations in which you need to be in the presence of a doctor. However, with remote in-home healthcare people with long-term illnesses or those recovering from surgery could save a few trips to the hospital.

Remote systems utilize a wireless sensor network hooked up to a patient. The system monitors things like activity, temperature, pulse, blood pressure, glucose, weight, pain, and how drugs are responding. Normally, for a doctor to monitor you closely you need to make many visits to their office. This may be day after day or month after month depending on the situation. However, even these visits won’t tell the doctor everything they need to know.  With the remote sensors you can get up-to-the-minute information, you can get consistent information and it can be taken at very specific intervals for optimal results.

Medication reminders may also be programmed into the system. This may especially be helpful for those prone to forgetting or for those that have several medications to take.  The system may also provide a more practical way for physicians to see how certain drugs are performing with their patients and allow them the opportunity to switch out the medication if it is not getting the best results. Often doctors must rely on patients to tell them how the medicine is performing; patients who may not always pay attention to what is happening or may not take the medication exactly as prescribed. This system helps eliminate those problems.

Let’s face it – healthcare is expensive and this could be one way to cut costs. These types of systems have the opportunity to provide patients with much more comprehensive educational content. For those that have a lifetime illness that they will have to monitor closely, multimedia content can be provided to develop care that is right for them while providing them with essential information they will need to care for themselves. While the doctor is monitoring the patient, the system can empower patients to really manage their care and have a stake in it.

Unfortunately, Medicare is not quite on board with the system yet. Until they do it might be slow going to get it started. There are many who could benefit from this type of system. It might decrease the lines at the doctor’s office if they don’t have to constantly keep weekly or monthly appointments with those they are monitoring. This type of system also allows them to monitor many more people at one time.

We want things that are easy. We don’t want to drive if we don’t have to and we don’t want to pay for things that aren’t going to make our lives easier. This type of system has the potential to change the face of healthcare.  Since it is a relatively new technology it may be slow to catch on with insurance companies. However, in the future, as technology integrates itself into our lives more and more, we may find systems like this becoming more commonplace. We are always looking for ways to make things easier and more affordable. Hopefully systems like this can help healthcare make a turn for the better in the future.