Telemedicine Is Transforming Senior Care In Dayton, Ohio

 


Telehealth is quick, easy, affordable, and crazy convenient.  It allows you to connect to your physician or a medical professional through a landline, cellphone, tablet or laptop.  Simply put, it’s a way of delivering and receiving healthcare remotely by means of telecommunications.  It can be used to assess, diagnose and treat from afar.   

Now you can skip the trip to the doctor’s office when you need medical attention for routine, non-emergency care, prescriptions or refills.  Telemedicine is effective for acute needs like a sore throat or a rash, and for help monitoring and managing chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and arthritis. 

Often allowing 24/7 virtual access, telemedicine is quickly becoming highly favored not only among seniors, but also by senior healthcare providers.  

Capital Health Care Network (CHCN), a family owned and operated company in Dayton, Ohio, uses telehealth services across their continuum to help seniors stay out of the hospital, recover quickly, return home safely and remain home with increased confidence and peace of mind.    

Their skilled home health care agency, Capital Health Home Care, uses Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) to monitor vital signs, medication management and falls in real time.  RPM includes:

Personal Emergency Response

This portable emergency call system can be set up through a landline or cellphone.  It sends out an emergency alert to notify the designated first responder in an emergency. 

 Medication Monitoring

The medication monitoring unit organizes and dispenses medications according to the physician-prescribed schedule.

 Fall Detection Button

Fall detection is an additional safeguard designed for situations when an individual falls and is unable to push the help button.

Capital Health Home Care also use Asynchronous Telehealth to store-and-forward medical data for patients and physicians as needed.  These telehealth services make improved quality of care possible without the need for an additional home visit. 

CHCN introduced telehealth services in two of their eight Ohio nursing homes at the onset of 2019. One of those care centers is Carriage Inn of Dayton at 5040 Philadelphia Drive.  Carriage Inn reports telehealth services have helped them drastically reduce the number of patients and long-term care residents being sent out to the hospital from their facility.  From January to June of this year, Carriage Inn has experienced a 5.16% hospitalization rate with telehealth.  That percentage is down by more than 15% over previous periods.   

Angie Copley, VP of Clinical Services at CHCN, said she expected to see an improved level of care with round-the-clock access to board-certified physicians, but even she did not expect to see this immense reduction in return to hospital rates.  “It’s incredible!  We are so happy to be able to offer this added level of support and reassurance to our patients and families,” said Copley. 

Consequently, CHCN will be introducing telehealth in all their skilled nursing centers coming soon including The Oaks of West Kettering in Kettering and Shiloh Springs Care Center in Trotwood.  With the push of a button, physicians can read charts, order tests, and even listen to your heart with a virtual stethoscope.

Benefits to seniors and their families include:

·        Fewer hospital visits

·        Reduced medical expenses

·        Improved care access

·        Ongoing caregiver support

·        Better chances of remaining independent at home

·        Decreased exposure to germs frequently present in clinic or hospital settings

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