By adjusting medications and alerting doctors to early problems, the telephone program lowered rehospitalizations by 79 percent. But it's labor-intensive. So Miller turned to the Health Buddy, made by California-based Health Hero Network. Hook the answering machine-size gadget to a telephone line. Nurses' questions zip through the phone line to the Health Buddy video screen.
Patients click a few buttons to respond to a secure Internet site.
They feel as though they're in touch with a caregiver on a daily basis. The Food and Drug Administration just approved a Health Buddy version that transmits diabetics' blood-sugar test results straight to doctors. Medtronic's Chronicle is still more sophisticated. For now, weekly doctor visits download the recordings, which can alert if a medication change is needed before there's a crisis, Costanzo said. But Medtronic hopes to ship patients at-home transmitters by spring.