commentary by Sylvia Talkington
As a telehealth clinician I can certify there were many new products to jump up and down about at the American Telemedicine Association’s annual meeting and exhibition. The wave of innovative technologies on display in San Antonio came close to drowning telehealth devotees in a virtual tsunami of features and functions, bells and whistles. There were front-end and back-end systems to make a Space Shuttle launch look simple.
Still, with EMR/EHR in the forecast and eHealth blowing in the wind there was a palpable sense of urgency to get on board with something. One such technology, spotlighted by a multi-year exhibitor, quietly stole the show for me. NONIN® (Non-Invasive Technologies) displayed a wireless, comfortable, finger-clip Pulse Oximeter. NONIN was the first manufacturer to have its pulseox units certified as meeting the Continua Health Alliance standard for interoperability. (for more, see www.continuaalliance.org)
Shortness of breath, a hallmark symptom for those diagnosed with COPD, Asthma, and CHF, is possibly the most frequently experienced symptom. Thousands of hours are spent, every day, by clinicians dealing with inadequately managed diseases that beg for attention with shortness of breath, not to mention panic and fear. Clinicians in the home, nurses in call centers, and physical and occupational therapists in all care locations are all after the same thing, to relieve life’s most frightening symptom, then get the person to recognize what is happening and connect to their disease.
We cannot do it for them. All the teaching in the world will not make it happen. But knowledge is power. When a person is given visible knowledge, behaviors change:
- “I just didn’t quite want to believe it, but when I saw how low my oxygen kept getting…”
- “I didn’t used to be too good about using my nebulizer.”
- “Ya know, it made it easier to wear my oxygen once I knew.”
When people have access to their own oxygen information, it becomes personal. That is why a new generation of pulse oximeters reflect what NONIN® has done best for 20 years – noninvasive physiologic monitoring.
When I asked Nicole Althaus, Director of Corporate Communications, what NONIN® had to offer to home care, I was embarrassed that I did not recognize a name that she asserted has been a trusted standard in hospitals. With so many applications creating identity crises for telehealth, that lengthy history is reassuring.
Outside the exhibit hall, in hallways and meeting rooms, there was no shortage of serious conversations about how to identify, quantify and treat those most costly diseases threatening to collapse our entire healthcare system and ultimately our national economic health. COPD, CHF and Asthma are a notorious trio, threatening the nation’s budget uncontrolled, unless meaningful uses of technology can be applied across the continuum.
What I saw in San Antonio, and have since read about NONIN, makes me hopeful that others can follow their lead. For healthcare providers, what could be more powerful than patients with CHF, COPD, or Asthma, taking control of their symptoms and managing their disease? We can all take a deep breath.
For your to-do list:
— Request a copy of the University of Colorado Hospital White Paper (May 2010) “Integrated eHealth for COPD” a remote home monitoring program from 2005-2009.
— Diversify – expand ambulatory monitoring capability: see “WristOx® 3100″ on the NONIN site
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Explore Disease Management – see “Onyx®II 9550″ and “Onyx® II Model 9560″ on the site
— Technology geeks only: Scope out “Technology and Products – Awards and Certificates”
— Patients, families, friends: when COPD, CHF, or Asthma is a part of a loved one’s life, see NONIN’s “GO2 – Model 9570″
— High Altitude and Sports Enthusiasts: Check out “GO2™Achieve” and choose a color!
Sylvia Talkington is a senior consultant with Telehomecare Applications and former clinical subject matter expert for CMS, where she was a member of a development team for the design, development, pre-post production of a web based training targeted to the home health segment.
