'Telehealth' devices allow patients to track illnesses from home

New York Times: "[T]housands of seriously ill patients are relying on computerized health trackers to help keep them safe at home. … Researchers say devices like these can help motivate elderly patients with chronic conditions like heart or lung disease, advanced diabetes or depression to follow advice from their doctors and nurses and to take part in their own care. Big multinational companies including G.E., Phillips, Intel, Honeywell and Bosch are stepping up their commitment in what some experts call 'telehealth.'" Studies have "shown mixed results" on whether the devices save money by averting hospital visits. Advocates for in-home care "say it is often less costly and produces better health results than occasional checkups and repeated hospital stays" (Freudenheim, 11/22).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.