Survey Shows Patients See Benefits in HME

SAN FRANCISCO — A majority of American patients support
the use of home medical equipment to manage and improve their
chronic conditions, according to a survey conducted by GfK Roper
for Practice Fusion.

“Home medical devices can save the health care system money and
also enable patients to live more independently while managing
their chronic conditions,” said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice
Fusion, in a release. The company offers a free, web-based
electronic health record (EHR) system to physicians and believes
the use of products like blood pressure monitors, glucometers and
scales can help connect patients with their doctors.

Glucometers, for example, can help diabetic patients record
their glucose levels, the company said, and scales are recommended
for use by patients with congestive heart failure to track weight
fluctuations that signal dangerous condition changes. New
technology has made such products affordable, but the connections
to physician EHR systems have not been developed extensively and
have limited their clinical use, according to the release.

“EHR systems are a key connection for linking these devices to
patients and physicians,” Howard said, adding that the company is
focusing its development on medical devices for the start of 2011
and hopes to leverage home medical device connectivity to its
community of 50,000 users and 5 million patients.

The survey found:

• Respondents with and without chronic conditions were equally
  interested in home medical devices.

• 62 percent with one or more chronic conditions said
  communication with their doctor using home medical devices would
  improve their health.

• Up to 57 percent between the ages of 25 and 49 with chronic
  conditions were interested in home medical devices.

Phone interviews for the survey were conducted among a
nationally representative sample of 1,008 adults age 18 or
older.