Working with you to Achieve Independence

Home Telehealth Phone Monitoring is a relatively new concept in health care that allows for a health care provider to remotely gather current health information from you in between regular caregiver visits. The way it works is simple...you use your regular telephone to speak to a Prairieland agent who will ask several questions related to your specific health issues; the goals is to catch small problems  before they become big ones. 

Telehealth programs can be used in many types of scenarios, such as:

• Monitoring  chronic conditions (Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, Diabetes, etc.)
• Post-surgical rehabilitation
• Medication reminders
• General health (can include weight gain/loss, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, etc.)
• Ostomy and Wound Care
• Our unique telehealth program can be customized for any conditions or concerns you may have

How Does the Telehealth Phone Monitoring Program Work?

We will assess your needs and discuss whether you might be an appropriate candidate for a telehealth program like this. Your telehealth program will be customized in order to meet your specific needs. For instance, you may be scheduled for a telehealth phone monitoring call two days a week, whereas another client may be scheduled for a call five days a week. If in the process of our phone call, there is any indication of a problem arising or a change in condition, your primary caregiver, physician, or nurse will be informed, and if necessary, action will be taken.  The phone calls will be on a regular schedule, and will only last an average of five minutes or less. This is also an opportunity for you to discuss any concerns you may have.

There are many benefits to using a telehealth program.

• Early identification of changes in condition
• Early interventions
• Increased self-management skills
• Reduction in hospitalization and emergency care
• The information we gather can be given to your physician for his review
• If you would like to designate another person (child/caregiver) to have access to your telehealth records, we would be able to give that person the security codes needed to access your information online.

Telehealth is designed to help you take a more active role in your own health. For example, if you or your physician feel that it would be helpful for you to record your daily blood pressure, we will teach you how to correctly take your blood pressure by using a very simple blood pressure cuff. Once you are comfortable doing this yourself, you would then report the reading to us over the phone. Because it does take a certain amount of self-sufficiency, our clients will be screened for the appropriateness of this program.  A good candidate for this program would be able to hear, answer and talk clearly on the phone, and the client/caregiver must have the ability to accurately perform the necessary self-monitoring activities.