Tablets enhance remote monitoring of Sentara Home Care Services patients

Tablets aren’t just for perusing the news and catching up on email anymore.

Sentara Home Care Services has updated its telehealth offerings with user-friendly tablets.

Sentara Home Care Services, an early adopter of telehealth technology, has partnered with Health Recovery Solutions (HRS) to enhance remote monitoring of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension and diabetes using 4G tablets preloaded with HRS software.

The tablets pair with Bluetooth devices allowing patients to track blood pressure, weight, heart rate, and other biometric data. The information is delivered electronically to the patient’s assigned nurse, allowing clinical staff to identify and address developing health issues.

“This helps the patient have daily access to clinicians or healthcare providers that can help them remotely. Some patients don’t want someone in their home all the time. This remote connection is really helpful, not just for patients, but for the family members who want to know that their loved one is being carefully monitored, particularly during those first few weeks after they’ve come out of the hospital,” explains Jody Hampton, RN, COS-C, Administrator of Sentara Home Care Woodbridge.

The software also offers medication reminders and education modules to promote disease management and self-care. Clinicians can communicate directly with patients through a video chat feature.

The Sentara Home Care team anticipates further reductions in Emergency Room visits and hospital readmissions while improving long-term outcomes and lowering the overall costs of care.

“Since we’re a hospital-based agency, we really focus on the Medicare population because we need to assist these patients and reducing readmissions. We know patients want to be home, they want to recover at home, they want to heal at home – it’s the first choice, if at all possible. This technology helps make that a reality,” explains Hampton.

This dedication to patients and their recovery has made Sentara Home Care Woodbridge the top rated home health agency in Northern Virginia.

“We’re a skilled agency. We send clinicians out based on the doctor’s orders or based on the initial assessment if the patient may need something other than what the doctor ordered. It really is individualized care for the patient,” explains Hampton.

Sentara Home Care Woodbridge also offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, registered nurses, licensed nurses, nutritional and diabetes services, as well.

To learn more about Sentara Home Care Woodbridge, call 571-285-1820.