Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice has launched a new program through its remote patient monitoring platform that connects lonely and isolated patients with volunteers to talk about whatever they want to talk about.

A Maine healthcare provider has found that remote patient monitoring can produce meaningful results that go far beyond clinical outcomes.

Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice, based in Lewiston, has been using telehealth and mHealth tools for roughly two decades, helping its care teams keep track of a wide range of patients at home. Using a 10-inch tablet and some wireless devices, they’re able to track vital signs and adjust care management when any changes are noticed.

But with the coronavirus pandemic forcing many of these patients to practically quarantine in their homes, cutting them off from family and friends and other social interactions, that RPM platform took on a more important role.

“Many patients in home care programs are isolated and vulnerable to begin with, especially in a rural state like Maine,” says Kathy Baillargeon, manager of volunteer resources. The COVID-19 crisis “made that so much worse. And when you’re affected by that, it can take years off your life.”

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