Despite some attempts, we’re a long way from the
Star Trek medical tricorder that gives a complete readout of a human’s (or non-human’s) health. But a
health system in Boston wants to increase the connection between in-home monitoring devices and the practice.
“Boston’s Partners HealthCare last month launched a system that allows patients to upload information from their medical devices, often wirelessly, directly into their electronic records in doctors’ offices. Patients can use glucometers, blood pressure cuffs, bathroom scales, and pulse oximeters (which measure blood oxygen levels) at home, to take regular measurements and send them to their doctors.”
What’s in it for the patient and the doctors? They can allow doctors to provide more preventive treatment and encourage healthy changes in patient behavior, according to the Boston Globe article.
To learn how technological advances fit in with the future of health care under the ACA? Keep an eye on
Part B News.
Now, if someone would just perfect a way to deliver all injections via
hypospray, trypanophobes would have one less worry when they visit the doctors.