A medical clinic in California is having particular success at treating patients better by using new technology to monitor patient health at home. A bathroom scale which transmits health data wirelessly to the CareMore clinic is just one example. When physicians noticed that 82 year-old Ellen had gained three pounds in 24 hours, they called her and requested she come in immediately for a check up. "Had the warning signs not been noticed and addressed so quickly, she might easily have suffered a long, painful, and expensive hospitalization."

What's the Big Idea?

By using technology to catch early-warning signs of declining health, the CareMore clinic is able to provide better and more convenient care. The clinic "is routinely achieving patient outcomes that other providers can only dream about: a hospitalization rate 24 percent below average; hospital stays 38 percent shorter; an amputation rate among diabetics 60 percent lower than average." More impressive still is that by treating problems 'upstream', the clinic preempts lengthy and costly procedures 'downstream', reducing overall costs. 

Music to my ears...

I found several news stories about how Florida Hospital Oceanside had been successfully using iPads with an aphasic stroke patient. Unfortunately, that application allowed the patient to touch an icon and a synthesized voice would communicate simple messages. That’s not what George needed, so I started searching the internet and the Apple App Store for more ideas.

I found another story on MSNBC about two Australian neuroscientists, Stuart Smith and Penelope McNulty of Neuroscience Research Australia, who had been using iPad, Kinect, and Wii games to make physical exercises less boring for stroke patients. Smith found that Fruit Ninja on the iPad was especially useful for improving fine motor control in patients. Searching the App Store turned up several applications that were developed for aphasic patients so they could tap an icon to have a voice speak for them. Best of all, I found an app that had videos demonstrating all the mouth and tongue exercises that would help improve George’s throat paralysis, swallowing (so he could have his beloved coffee again!), and speech.

From an engaging story about a stroke and use of an iPad in rehab and recovery. I wish I had been able to use an iPad for mouth exercises as suggested here—remembering the exercises and how to do them was an obstacle. I bet iPad would have been better than the static instructions I used; it could have used animations or video to demonstrate the proper technique. I'm using iPad to time exercise routines and sometimes as a reminder to take medications. I can see that it could be useful in setting reminders just to do exercises periodically.

I didn't start playing games until later in my recovery, but I watched a lot of Jeopardy as soon as I could and heartily recommend games for anyone working on rebuilding cognitive skills. I bet iPad can be really useful in recovering motor skills as suggested here.

If you’ve ever been to the hospital, you probably are famiiar with the holter monitor, a device for measuring electrical activity in the nervous system. And you probably also know what holters tend to look like: a bunch of unsightly and uncomfortable plastic patches and wires attached to a bulky, beeping screen. The alternative could come in the form of a system being developed by researchers at Carlos III University in Madrid that uses a tank top instead of rubber suckers, and dispenses with the wires in favor of, well, a completely wireless set-up.

Not only is the tank top less intrusive and more comfortable than traditional biomonitoring systems, say the researchers, it also is just a fraction of the cost. Alongside the washable T-shirt, whch contains a series of electrodes that measure and record bioelectrical activity, the system also includes a removable thermometer and accelerometer that measures temperature and movement, and a separate positioning device that allows doctors and nurses to keep track of where patients are.

Another post on wireless monitoring. It was quite a day fo posts on simplifying Health Care: Science Times in this morning's NYT talked about a drastic reduction in the cost of CPAPs by implementing simpler alternatives and Mashable posted on using phones for health care in Africa.

A retirement center in Florida says an iPad pilot program started in July is helping keep residents young at heart.

The iPad’s large touch screen and light weight are helping healthy residents socialize more — as they play with puzzles and games — and it’s been “pretty amazing,” the home director says with re-educating stroke and dementia patients.

I'm a big fan of games for cognitive recovery—I started out with TV game shows (Thank you Alex Trebek and Alan Ludden—and I'm a big fan of the iPad for entertainment and more serious pursuits.