Home healthcare solutions
By Cesar Mangawang
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:54:00 08/08/2008
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle & Leisure
(Fourth in a series)
MANILA, Philippines—Falls prevention coalitions are being formed and government agencies are putting increased focus on falls, informed Philips Home Healthcare Solutions EVP Rod Feinstein, who is also Philips Lifeline CEO.
Feinstein stressed that Philips Lifeline is leading the fight against falls through prevention, detection and intervention as well as harnessing four key assets—knowledge base, healthcare relationships, behavioral data and research and development.
“Our healthcare partnerships give us a unique advantage in fall education and prevention,” Feinstein said. In fact, the company is collaborating with industry experts, is targetting 1 million healthcare professionals in its falls educational efforts and is also conducting consumer education on falls.
Feinstein projects that this year they will answer about 9 million calls, intervene in close to 400,000 incidents and facilitate 125,000 ambulatory visits to hospital, thereby, saving numerous lives, providing reassurance and saving healthcare dollars.
Medication management
Lineline not only is concerned in falls prevention but it also helps the elderly manage their medication.
Philips Lifeline VP for Marketing Mark Rutherford attributed the elderly’s nonadherence to medication regimen to confusion, forgetfulness, side effects as well as financial and clinical constraints.
Rutherford said not taking medications as prescribed by a physician is a costly healthcare problem. This has a direct annual costs of $100 billion for the US healthcare system, he added.
Nonadherence, according to him, has indirect costs of $50 billion. Because of medications’ misuse, there is 1 in 10 hospital visits annually. Inability to manage medications is the No. 1 reason for admittance to nursing homes, Rutherford stressed.
According to him, the Philips Lifeline medication management system is made up of the dispensing unit, which addresses forgetfulness and confusion, and monitoring, which ensures prompt attention only as needed. The dispensing unit is simple to use and flexible for complex medication regimens while monitoring boasts of timely alerts to caregivers for missed doses, online reporting and reminders for caregivers prior to empty.
Rutherford described how the medication management system works. First, the professional installer is sent to the home. Secondly, the caregiver organizes and loads unit. Thirdly, the end user presses a button when reminder sounds. Lastly, the support center ensures alerts are received. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
He said the medication management system helps ensure that the correct medications are taken at the right time. Thus, it reduces the risk for underdosing or overdosing. The system is also proven effective by thousands of users. It is even endorsed by healthcare providers. It will have its full national launch early next year.
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