Health Hero Network has introduced the next generation of its groundbreaking Health Buddy appliance, redesigned to allow Health Hero Network to further transform the relationship between patients and health care through home health monitoring.
"The Health Buddy 2 is a modern, flexible platform that extends our leadership in transforming how patients relate to the health care system," said Steve Brown, President and CEO of Health Hero Network. "The new features in the Health Buddy 2 open our system to an even larger community of solutions providers, content developers, and medical device manufacturers. By enabling these types of partnerships, we can extend deployments throughout the health care system and replace the cycle of crisis and isolation with monitoring and support."
Each new feature incorporated in the Health Buddy 2 is derived from successful deployments and partnerships with national leaders in the health care field since 1997. Four USB ports and a serial port allow for easy connection of multiple medical devices, dramatically increasing the appliance's flexibility. It also features an all-new industrial design by leading design firm IDEO. A larger screen with high-resolution color graphics and easier-to-read text, larger interface buttons, and new voice-quality audio capabilities build upon the initial Health Buddy appliance's demonstrated ease of use.
In real world deployments and peer reviewed clinical trials, the Health Buddy has proved effective in improving health care provider communications with patients in their own home and enabling patient self-management.
In 2002, the Veterans Administration released an analysis of its home health-monitoring program in which the Health Buddy system played a key role. The analysis showed a 63 percent decrease in hospital admissions, a 40 percent reduction in emergency room visits, a 60 percent drop in bed days of care, a 64 percent decrease in nursing home admissions, and an 88 percent reduction in nursing home bed days of care. In addition, patient satisfaction rates topped 90 percent.
As a result, Health Hero Network is now a supplier to the VA national rollout of programs for home health monitoring of patients with chronic illness.
The Health Buddy 2 is the cornerstone of the Health Buddy system, which integrates home health monitoring technology with clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. The Health Buddy system addresses more than 45 disease states and engages in dialogue with patients that allow health care providers to identify those at risk and provide care that can prevent hospital admissions. The questions also seek to modify high-risk behaviors by encouraging active patient participation in managing their chronic conditions.
Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy system for health improvement. The Health Buddy system serves as the interface between patients at home and care providers, facilitating patient education and monitoring of chronic conditions. The system includes monitoring technologies, clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy system improves the quality of care.