A 69-year-old patient reports that her experience with
Telehealth has been “an eye opener,” helping her to be more accountable for her
own health. The patient has been on the
program for eleven months. It is
difficult for her and her spouse to get to the hospital due to the remoteness
of their home and the unwieldy road leading to and from it. The task is insurmountable during Central
Oregon’s severe winter storms - twelve-foot drifts of snow have been known to
isolate their home from thoroughfares for up to three months at a time.
The patient has experienced multiple health complications,
and has recently undergone a successful gastric bypass. Telehealth has helped her to feel more at
ease being active following the procedure.
During hot summer months, the pulse oximeter helps her to know if she
needs to wear an oxygen pack while working outdoors. She states that she “feel[s] more secure
knowing that my blood pressure is not going out of whack, if my oxygen level is
good or bad.” Further, the patient has
become more prudent regarding her diet, knowing that loading up on salty foods
will be reflected in her readings.
While her experience with Telehealth has been very positive
overall, she has had trouble with the equipment. At times, she takes her blood pressure two to
three times before receiving a reading.
When her pulse oximeter failed to read accurately, she was unable to receive
a new one in a timely manner due to incline weather. Despite equipment hassles, she is hopeful
that she will continue to benefit from Telehealth, and is grateful for the
relationships that she has cultivated via the program - “it’s good to know that
I am in reach of medical care.”
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