Major Improvement for Cardiac Patients: Health Insurer Now Covers Costs of eHealth
Slingeland Ziekenhuis (Slingeland Hospital), Sensire, and Menzis have optimized how they work together, so that they can provide even better remote care to people suffering from heart failure. Patients can now send information on their heart rate, blood pressure, and weight every two weeks using an iPad, improving how their health is monitored and reducing the frequency of in-hospital check-ups. Health insurer Menzis now fully covers the cost of this new style of digital care.
The hospital, health-care provider, and health insurer teamed up some time ago as part of the project "InBeeld" ("bringing into vision") to provide remote care to people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This enables patients, nursing staff, and doctors to use the "cVitals" app – a product designed by the Dutch company FocusCura – on their iPad and other digital device in order to exchange information and video-call via a secure connection. If required, patients can contact the nurse directly or schedule an appointment at the hospital.
This application seamlessly brings together the cardiologist's specialist knowledge at Slingeland Hospital, Sensire's nursing knowledge, and Menzis's financial support. This has boosted the quality of life of patients living in the more rural areas of the Netherlands: The control they have over their health means they no longer need to go to the hospital as often. It's a step towards a healthier life.
John Diederik from Hengelo is one of the enthusiastic users of this remote care. The time that John and his girlfriend would have spent at the hospital can now be used for their hobbies and leisure. He tells us about his experiences: "Today's technology really has no limits. I stay in contact with friends and family via Facebook, and I also use Maps. It's great to see how many solutions we now have for day-to-day things. Now we can add health care to that list."