Māori patients trial remote monitoring in Far North

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

A remote patient monitoring trial with a Māori health provider in the Far North aims to help isolated cardiac patients self-manage their condition and seek medical help earlier if needed.

The trial at hauora Māori provider Whakawhiti Ora Pai in Te Kao is one of four whānau-led pilot sites chosen by Te Aka Whai Ora, working alongside Te Whatu Ora.

The two-year trial at Whakawhiti Ora Pai will involve 15 rural and isolated patients with cardiac conditions, aged from 40 through to mid-80s.

Mihinga Robson, clinical manager at Whakawhiti Ora Pai, says they chose to focus on long term cardiac patients for the RPM trial as it was the most concerning condition in their area.

Many of their patients live in rural isolated areas, and some without power.

"These patients do not just have cardiac problems: they often also have diabetes, respiratory problems, and more " says Robson.

"If they are unwell, they have to come to one of our three clinics but often they have no vehicle or unlicensed vehicles and they might need to go further away for treatment. We also need to provide follow up care."

The patients will receive a smart watch, smart scales and a mobile phone if they do not have a suitable smartphone.

These technologies will connect via Google Health to allow the data to flow from the patient's app, into the provider's clinical system.

The watch will be monitoring blood pressure, oxygen levels, pulse and heart rhythm and the scales will monitor people's weight and BMI. An app on their phone will also do a daily facial scan to detect signs of stress.

Robson says the patients are excited to be involved in the trial as they do not want to have a heart attack at home and noone know about it. Their only concern is around the technology, but they will get support to setup and use it in their homes.

The team is looking into using Starlink or providing data plans for those patients without an internet connection and providing solar charging options for the watch, as well as offering phone charging at their clinics.

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Kimberley Blucher, whānau activity coordinator at Whakawhiti Ora Pai, says they feel very lucky to be one of the four pilot sites.

"Some of the patients we have selected because of the lack of monitoring they are currently are able to do due to not having internet or a mobile service. This means that sometimes by the time they to the clinic, it is already too late and they are sent straight through to the hospital," she explains.

"We are trying to prevent that happening by having more advanced notice of patients becoming unwell.

"We are also trying to increase people's understanding of their condition, so they know when they might not be doing so well, and they need to call us."

Each patient will have parameters set that are normal for them and a traffic light system will alert health staff when monitoring shows they have moved outside of these.

"The patients hope it will help with their self-management, so they know when they need to rest and are able to make that choice to prevent them becoming really unwell," says Blucher.

"It will also save our staff time as we will not always have to go out and see these patients and they can also choose to share information with their specialists so the cardiologist can get a blood pressure check directly."

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