Cleveland Clinic’s Heart Care @ Home helps home-bound patients

The Cleveland Clinic has launched a telemedicine service for elderly heart patients — Heart Care @ Home, according to AARP.

A year ago, the Clinic said it was in the “pre-implementation phase” of such a home healthcare service as part of its push to add emerging businesses as a fourth revenue stream.

Heart Care @ Home uses wireless monitors and digital devices to provide vital signs like weight, blood pressure and heart rate of home-bound patients to Clinic heart specialists every day, AARP said. The aim is to stay on top of vital sign changes and to manage a patient’s heart disease to avert a costly hospital stay.

The program also provides patients with access to nurses, aides, nutritionists, social workers, physical therapists and education through the monitoring technology or a phone, AARP said.

Heart Care @ Home has reduced hospital readmissions and provided patients the tools to manage their heart disease, the Clinic told AARP.