Case Study Blue River Home Care Blue River Home Care is a for-profit home care agency affiliated with Blue River Hospital, a private 60-bed hospital. The agency is an early adopter of telehealth services that are now integrated into the home care plans of patients with chronic diseases. The telehealth technology integrates data from portable monitoring devices, including spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, digital weight scales, and videophones. After eight years, the agency is beginning to reap the benefits

Case Study Blue River Home Care

Blue River Home Care is a for-profit home care agency affiliated with Blue River Hospital, a private 60-bed hospital. The agency is an early adopter of telehealth services that are now integrated into the home care plans of patients with chronic diseases. The telehealth technology integrates data from portable monitoring devices, including spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, digital weight scales, and videophones. After eight years, the agency is beginning to reap the benefits of investing in the telehealth infrastructure, which enhances the quality of delivered services and reduces costs. Specifically, regular patient monitoring enabled by technology has reduced the staffs travel time and costs; has made scheduling home care visits more efficient; and, in many cases, has led to proactive interventions to prevent adverse events. So far, it is too early to tell if rehospitalization rates for home care patients with chronic conditions will be reduced. Still, given that the technology enables early detection of symptoms, such reductions seem likely.

The agencys administration is looking for ways to keep pace with emerging technologies, which would give it a competitive advantage. The leaders are examining integrating a personal health record (PHR) and a health social network into the existing telehealth infrastructure. This social network would allow patients to access and manage their personal health information, connect with others with similar conditions for support and sharing, and let family members and caregivers participate in virtual support groups. The agency has held informal meetings with healthcare providers regarding this plan. Some clinicians like the communication and information opportunities the plan will offer patients and their caregivers, but other clinicians have some concerns, including the following:

The health social network might propagate unreliable or wrong information.

PHR integration could pose privacy (and thus liability) risks

Patients may not use the health social network

Physician compensation could be negatively affected by the online patient-clinician interaction.

Older patients, and those who have no experience with technology, may find it difficult to enter, manage, and find health information (significantly to improve health literacy).

These reactions are indicative of the diverse views and attitudes of healthcare providers, administrators, patients, and family members toward consumer health applications.

Consumer Health/PHR Knowledge Management

In the healthcare field the acquisition of knowledge is important to improve patient care. The process of identifying, managing, and sharing this information is called knowledge management. For this assignment, read the Health Informatics: A Systems Perspective, Chapter 8 Case Study on page 184, and analyze how telehealth and personal health records may increase the quality of healthcare in the community. In your paper:

Describe challenges in ensuring continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions. How can emerging technologies solve or at least ease these challenges?

List and explain some of the benefits of integrating a PHR with a health social network for patients with chronic conditions, their caregivers, and the organization.

Name the specific effects that adopting e-health and social media applications will have on the structure and strategies of a healthcare organization

How might the adoption of an integrated PHR and health social network change the interaction and relationship between patients and health professionals?