High blood pressure (hypertension) can quietly damage your body for years before any symptoms appear. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to serious health complications, including a deadly heart attack or stroke.
Now, you can monitor your blood pressure from the comfort of your home with a new program StarMed is offering.
StarMed’s remote patient monitoring program provides you access to monthly telehealth visits and a home blood pressure monitoring device valued at $100. The program is free to patients who have insurance.
“This program extends a physician’s reach to the patient,” said Jennifer McKee, StarMed’s Director of Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine. “Normally, a patient comes in for a visit and the physician gets quantitative data, then the patient goes home. But things can change at home. Our remote patient monitoring program gives the provider quantitative data when the patient is at home. They can see what’s happening in real-time.”
What are the benefits of the remote monitoring program, and how does it work?
- You will receive a telehealth visit with a provider each month, usually lasting between 20 and 60 minutes.
- You agree to take your blood pressure at least 16 times each month.
- Your readings automatically come back to a StarMed provider.
- If your readings are out of range from where they should be, you will be contacted by the provider.
- The blood pressure monitoring device is free, and yours to keep.
- Your medical information remains secure throughout the process.
“High blood pressure is called ‘the silent killer,” McKee said. “People with hypertension often don’t have any symptoms or side effects. They really can be a ticking time bomb, because, by the time they’ve had a stroke or renal failure, it’s too late. Our monitoring program is preventative medicine.”
There have been success stories in the program’s early going, including StarMed’s care managers who noticed a woman’s blood pressure was slipping throughout the day. That raised a flag and medical assistance was dispatched to her home to offer immediate aid.
The program also can reduce the 30-day rate of recidivism (patients who return for repeated care), emergency room visits, and 9-1-1 calls, all of which put a strain on the healthcare system.
It also allows better access for patients who may face barriers to quality healthcare. Some patients may lack transportation. Others can’t afford time away from work or don’t prioritize seeking care for a single issue, such as blood pressure.
“This program bridges that gap, and addresses some of the societal issues they face,” McKee said. “It also empowers them to take ownership of their healthcare.”
Join this program, and from your home, you can help monitor your hypertension and improve your health.
If you have high blood pressure, register for StarMed’s remote patient monitoring program here. If you haven’t been diagnosed with hypertension, you’ll need to visit a StarMed clinic to be tested and then sign up.