Daily Archives: April 16, 2008

Lakewood Health System Update

Posted on by
2

We continue to research our telemonitoring purchase options. Last week, we had a representative from Patient Care Technologies demonstrate their well@home device.  The well@home model is unique in that it interfaces with Patient Care Technologies’ current Home Health software.  Our home health agency purchased this software a number of years ago.  This would mean our nurses would not have to re-enter the client’s telemonitoring statistics into the client’s online chart.  It would directly interface the information each time the client completed their vital signs, answered questions related to their health condition, or did not complete their tasks.  The newest well@home monitor includes the capability to obtain a 1-lead ECG- something that we have not seen in other telemonitoring products.  On their website: http://www.wellathome.com/ they include an interview with a well@home user from Minnesota. 

In Patient Care Technologies’ own one year study of CHF patients, patients who utilized well@home showed a 37% improvement in the management of their oral medications, 19% reported improved dyspnea, along with a 45% reduced ER care visit rate and 47% rate of decreased acute care hospitalization.  As we look for Medicare to begin the “pay for performance” standards for home care agencies, we are looking to improve our care and utilize more evidence-based process measures, like telemonitoring. 

Our last telemedicine demonstration is scheduled for May 1st from a company called Viterion. 

light speed communityThe Blandin Foundation is supporting four standout broadband programs through the Light Speed program. The program’s purpose is to stimulate the deployment of bandwidth intensive applications that connect local institutions to area resident’s home. This post comes from a Light Speed community leader.

Telework Recruits Employees

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Ann Higgins for sending me the fun article on telework in Arizona and Virginia (Telework Helps Virginia and Arizona Recruit and Retain Employees).

Living in Ireland and working primarily with Minnesota companies and organizations, I sometimes feel as if I could be the poster child for teleworkers. So, I love to hear what people think of it.

This article waxes eloquently on the benefits:

  1. Teleworkers are more productive and need fewer days off.
  2. Telecommuting policies can help recruit younger workers, retain folks past retirement, and draw new hires from candidates without a geographic restriction.
  3. It saves money previously spent on office space.
  4. It is great for the environment as fewer people make daily commutes.

So what are the barriers?

First, management sometimes worries about supervising workers they cannot see. Getting management to telecommute was offered as a solution, which I think is great. I think you see quickly enough that you simply can’t get your work done if you don’t work. And the flip side is someone can be at the office all day and night and never work a lick. (I’m reading a jPod, a funny book by Douglas Coupland where the protagonists (IT workers at a game design company) are in the office 10 hours a day doing anything but working.) The truth is we’ve all day jobs or days like that and location doesn’t change it. Luckily we generally rebound – or move on.

The need for technology and broadband was listed as the next possible barrier. The estimated the cost for setting up a new telework employee was $7,500 and ongoing charges were $3,500. (I have to say that doesn’t seem that high to me compared to cost of setting up office space, parking, and the rest.)

Teleworkers need broadband to email, and get into various work networks but also we need the broadband and technology to support personal networks that would happen more informally if everyone was in the same office. We need video conferencing and other communication tools to building relationships and foster mentoring. I think that as those build things will get easier.

As a very remote worker I have to say that life as a teleworker has been good. Except when you’re so far away you do get lonely! Work-wise though very little has changed for me. Thanks to the fact that most government meetings (MN and US) and archived, I can view those and it’s just like being there. Thanks to Skype I can call and be called easily – I can even set up video when/if I want.

From a community perspective, making sure that the infrastructure is available (broadband) opens a whole new channel of jobs for citizens and a whole new channel for hiring for employers.