In an effort to provide care beyond the four walls of the hospital, Flagstaff Medical Center, Northern Arizona’s only regional referral center, which cares for more than 85,000 patients each year, has launched a unique patient care program called Care Beyond Walls and Wire, in collaboration with Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Wireless Reach initiative, Zephyr Technology, Verizon Wireless, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The project, which leverages state-of-the-art technology, has been designed to deliver a model of care that transcends traditional medicine and extends patient care beyond the boundaries of the hospital and the walls of the hospital or physician's office.
In a press release, Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) reported that it has enrolled its first patient into its ground breaking Care Beyond Walls and Wires program, which leverages advanced 3G wireless technology and health-monitoring devices to enhance the care of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) or other related conditions.
Using wireless broadband tools, such as smart phones and 3G technology, the program facilitates in-home daily monitoring of patients with CHF. The monitoring, which involves daily exchange of information such as weight, blood pressure, activity and other important health indicators between patients and the care givers will continue for six months after the patient's discharge from the hospital. This monitoring will help physicians detect a decline in a patient's health status early. An immediate intervention followed by the detection will enable the health care providers to prevent unnecessary travel, physician office visits, costs and readmission to a hospital.
“This project launches a model of care that transcends traditional medicine, using state-of-the-art technology to care for patients beyond the walls of the hospital. Working with these technology companies and national health agencies will extend FMC's reach into outlying areas where healthcare is most needed,” Flagstaff Medical Center president and CEO William Bradel noted in a statement.
In addition of offering its expertise, Qualcomm is donating wireless devices to FMC in support of the project. Zephyr is providing advanced health-monitoring systems to patients. Verizon Wireless is providing 3G-enabled Motorola Droid X2 smart phones. The NIH is assisting FMC with project planning and evaluation.
The program comes with far-reaching wireless capabilities, which is especially beneficial for the Native American population living in outlying areas where landline phones are often unavailable. Some have limited access to electricity and running water and finding transportation to see a physician on a regular basis can be challenging.
“Our mission is to transform the health of the communities we serve. This program will dramatically extend the delivery of healthcare by giving our CHF patients the tools to stay connected to a nurse at FMC, regardless of how close they are to the hospital,” Bradel said in a statement.
Early last month, FMC received a significant amount of donation from UnitedHealthcare of Arizona for its children's medical facilities. The other two medical centers to receive the$ 125,000 donation are Tucson Children's Clinics and Yuma Regional Medical Center Children's Rehabilitative Services.
“We are going to significantly update our current practice management system and implement an electronic medical record platform that will enable us to improve care to the patients we serve. We are pleased to work with UnitedHealthcare on such an important project,” director of Flagstaff Medical Center Children's Health Center Joanne Parkes noted in an earlier statement.
Madhubanti Rudra is a contributing editor for HealthTechZone. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
