`
`National Conference of State Legislatures
`
` STATE HEALTH NOTES
`
`FORUM FOR STATE HEALTH POLICY LEADERSHIP
`
`FEBRUARY 14, 2000
`
`VOLUME 2 1, NUMBER 3 18
`
`IDEAS (5“ INNOVATIONS
`
`Who’s Your ”Health Buddy"?
`Aflrr undergoingopen-lyeafimrgeg; jean
`beads bomefi‘om the bopitalwir/a myn'aa'mali—
`mtiom. “[fonly I had a little help in keeping
`track ofmypillr, ”size think: to berseéf
`Patients like Joan may be in luck, iftheir
`physician equips them with the Health
`Buddy®, an in-home mmsaging device that
`facilitates patient—provider communications.
`Designed to help patients manage chronic ill—
`ness more effectively, the “buddy" was de—
`signed by the California-based Health Hero
`Network® Online Service.
`
`The appliance, which is about the size of
`a paperback book, is currently being used for
`chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes and
`congestive heart failure, said Shawn
`Hopwood, the nemork's marketing director.
`Afew conditions—including depression—are
`also in the “testing” stage, he added, and some
`managed care plan customers would like to
`incorporate wellness-related programs, such
`as smoking mation and weight loss.
`How does the communications system
`work? Patients connect the device to an exist-
`
`touch ofa few buttons, and providers receive
`alerts if the patient’s response falls outside set
`parameters.
`A typical initial qua-don the “buddy” asks
`a patient is, “How do you feel today?” Then,
`depending on the disease being monitored, it
`will ask more specific questions, Hopwood
`explained. For someone with diabetes, for in-
`stance, the “buddy” will ask, “Have you
`checked your feet today?” or “Do you have
`any new sores?” Similarly, for congestive heart
`failure patients, it would ask, “Are you experi-
`encing any shortness ofbreath?"
`Introduced last May, the appliance is cur-
`rently being used by more than 1,000 cus-
`tomers nationwide, including in California,
`Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Oregon and
`Texas. The monitoring device itselfis supplied
`free ofcharge, and providers pay a monthly
`fee of$25 per patient for the technical backup.
`Its benefits include the avoidance ofcostly
`hospital stays and improved patient educa-
`tion, by teaching individuals to take better
`care ofthemselves and to manage their disease
`more effectively. In addition, the “buddy” of—
`fers a bonus to rural communities, where it
`may not be cosy for patients to get to a medi-
`cal facility on a regular basis.
`One Oregon physician who is tinting the
`theory ofthe “buddy’s” effectiveness in rural
`areas is Bruce Brundage, M.D., medical direc—
`tor ofthe Heart Institute ofthe Cascades. Ac—
`
`cording to Brundage, he first heard about the
`device from a colleague’s daughter. Given the
`
`geographical reach ofthe institute’s cardiol-
`ogy clinic~it serves people across 25,000
`square miles—and the fact that many patients
`can’t come to the medical center for regular
`follow-ups, he said he thought the “buddy”
`might be a good way to gauge the use of tech—
`nology across the miles.
`Brundage and his colleagues at the insti-
`tute thus set up a clinical trial for 200 patients
`(100 ofwhom will use the “buddy”) that started
`a few months ago. Theyhope to determine first,
`whether it’s feasible to get patients to use the
`“Health Buddy” and second, whether using the
`devioewill make a real difference in patient out-
`comes (hospitalization andemergencyroom vis—
`its, for example) and qualityoflife, and what its
`impact from a financial perspective will be.
`Are there any downsides to using the
`device? Brundage says he hasn’t run into any
`yet, but that the potential certainly exists. One
`question, he said, is whether the patient will
`continue to use the ‘buddy’ after a month,
`“or will he decide it’s a pain in the neck?”
`Even ifthat does happen, however, the
`doctorpredicted that technologywill continue
`to play a big—ifnot expanding—role in ad—
`vancing modern medicine. “It’s changing the
`way we do everything,” Brundage noted.
`“There are physicians who communicate with
`their patients everyday via the Internet. ” The
`technological revolution, he asserted, “has only
`just begun.”
`' MG
`Camden/ye Health Heronuar/e at (650) 559-
`I000 or visit its website at http://uww.Mm.cam
`
`'
`
`ing home telephone line, and they can then
`view questions and daily reminders from their
`provider on a brightly lit screen, much much
`like that on a home computer. Four large but—
`tons allow parients to respond to closed—end
`queries sent to them by their nurse or doctor.
`The providers, in turn, have access to patient
`information through the lntemet. Reports rs—
`tablishing trends can be compiled with the
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`Bosch Ex. 2022
`Bosch EX. 2022
`Cardiocom v. Bosch IPR2013-00468
`Cardiocom V. Bosch IPR2013-00468
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