Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Technology Embraces Existing Senior Caregiving

The Buddy Check Network “BCN” is partnering with a Philadelphia-based Senior Caregiver Support Agency and the Microsoft Corporation to develop an automated calling platform solution that leverages the BCN and Microsoft “HealthVault” technologies with our unique medical support delivery to reduce the cost of caring for senior patients.

This BCN packaged offering is simply to call into the senior's home at scheduled times to ask the senior 3 to 5 trigger questions concerning particular health issues in an effort to reduce the "acute" episodes that cause hospitalization or re-hospitalizations that are a key contributor to spiraling health care costs.

The goal is to show how the BCN can reduce risks and re-admissions by up to 41%, savings millions of care dollars annually.

In addition to this technology-based home care monitoring system, Microsoft's HealthVault will begin to provide a data collaboration point as a personal medical records management tool. HealthVault will allowing sharing of patient data and personal health records with authorized family members and healthcare support teams.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Inpatient to Outpatient Transfer of Care in Urban Patients With Diabetes

Patterns and Determinants of Immediate Postdischarge Follow-up

This research article from the Archives of Internal Medicine stressed the importance of follow-up, especially tracking patients with diabetes after discharge...

Results Patients were stratified into outpatient follow-up (69%), acute care follow-up (15%), and those with no follow-up (16%). ...

Conclusions In this patient cohort, most individuals accomplished a postdischarge visit, but a substantial percentage had an acute care visit or no documented follow-up. New efforts need to be devised to track patients after discharge to assure care is achieved, especially in this patient population particularly vulnerable to diabetes.

K. Wheeler, R. Crawford, D. McAdams, S. Benel, V. G. Dunbar, J. M. Caudle, C. George, I. El-Kebbi, D. L. Gallina, D. C. Ziemer, and C. B. Cook

Arch Intern Med 2004 164: 447-453

Friday, August 15, 2008

How Rehospitalizations are Hurting Medicare

Robert Pozen and Cathy Schoen recently reported in the Boston Globe that 75% of all 30-day hospital readmissions of Medicare patients in 2005 (13% of total admissions) were potentially preventable. If these readmissions were eliminated, Medicare could save $12 billion annually, or more than half of its unfunded liability, according to the authors.

Robert Pozen is a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund. Cathy Schoen is senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund.

Read the full Boston Globe Article

Also see the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

Note: the Buddy Check Network is already on top of this with our speech activated data collection system tied into Geri-Perk, a local Medicare Facilitator organization, and Microsoft's HealthVault.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Buddy Check Voice System Safeguards Elderly

Mary Stoker Smith of CBS 3 in Philadelphia recently reported on the Buddy Check Network:
"73-year-old Louise Mingo says she loves the independence of living alone that is, until a recent health scare. One day she passed out. 'I don't know how long I laid there or who came in and got me,' Louise said. That's when Louise decided to use the buddy system. 'If anything is wrong with me, they can get help,' Louise said. 'Help' is a phone call called the Buddy Check Voice System.

The system automatically calls the person on the day and time they choose. If no one answers or if help is needed the system calls the caregiver's cell phone or sends a text message.


Philadelphia native Jerry Green created the system said it's not a replacement for caregivers. But it's a useful tool for many with busy schedules."


Read the full story and view the video of the broadcast.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Introducing the Buddy Check Network Blog

Your Own Personal Buddy Check Network

- Do you need to stay in-touch with elderly family members, or friends?

- Do you know individuals living independently in their own home?
- Would you like to have the "Peace of Mind" of knowing that your loved ones are being checked on even when you're busy?
- Are you a Caregiver?
- Could you benefit from having a reminded call or text message?

If you answer Yes to any of these questions then you need the Buddy Check Network

The Buddy Check Network is an "easy to use" Communication Network that allows you to build your own personal "Mobile Community" to let family and friends stay connected using any telephone!

We host and maintain the network's complete voice and mobile system for one low monthly subscription fee.

If you have a telephone then you have everthing you need to get started, what could be easier?