The link with Amazon Alexa is for patient scheduling.. In addition, telehealth startup MediSprout is to work with Withings, a French consumer electronics company headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, for integration of its home monitoring blood pressure cuff.
Blood pressure monitoring
The Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor is designed to connect with V2MD’s Web interface. The system comes with downloadable app. Once a patient has registered for a V2MD account to connect with their existing doctors, each individual will be prompted to select a medical device plus the measurements they are comfortable sharing with a doctor. Once this is decided, both patient and physician can view the data in the form of charts or graphs. Such data includes the patient’s blood pressure prior to and during the V2MD video visit.
Commenting on this digital health product, Alexis Normand, VP of Healthcare for Withings told Digital Journal: “Our Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor is a portable and affordable way for patients to measure and track their blood pressure without making a trip to the doctor.”
He adds: “Connecting with V2MD by MediSprout makes it quick and easy for them to take readings and share critical information through video conference, enabling their doctors to provide immediate guidance and continued care, which has been clinically proven in multiple studies to improve patient outcomes.”
This patient-led approach to healthcare can produce meaningful changes. One 18 month study of 150 patients at four American Medical Group Association member organizations (“Intensification of older adults’ outpatient blood pressure treatment at hospital discharge: national retrospective cohort study“), showed how blood pressure control rates improved from 38.6 percent to 70.0 percent when patients self-measured data was regularly shared with physicians, where the medic could advise on treatment directly.
Medical appointments
The bookings system with Alexa is designed to address the issue of no-shows or late-shows or no-show medical appointments, which cost the U.S. economy millions (according to an article published in The Pittsburgh Gazette). With the deal with Amazon, Alexa has now been configured to readily connect with V2MD’s user-friendly Web interface and app. The Alexa voice command platform can sync with V2MD and gathers a patient’s doctor’s available days and times. The patient can then select what works best for them and an appointment is automatically added to the calendars of both the patient and physician.
Through this streamlining the appointment process, physicians can potentially save valuable in office appointment time, and further enhance the patient’s care by allowing them to directly schedule follow-ups, prescription refills, or ask general questions without the hassle of playing phone tag with their physician’s office. This means medical institutions and physicians can take advantage of these developments in telehealth technology and provide greater connections and flexibility in visits.
