Telehealth

Connect Me, sometimes known as Remote Health Monitoring (RHM) or Home and Mobile Health Monitoring (HMHM), is the use of technology to enable patients to record details of their symptoms and/or clinical readings (such as blood pressure, heart rate or peak flow), so that they can monitor changes themselves and so that their healthcare provider can also monitor them, either on a web-based portal or by receiving reports.

With Connect Me providing general tips, advice and links to online information as well as providing specific advice and feedback in response to readings, it can help patients to understand and manage their own health condition. Meanwhile, Connect Me gives the clinician the information they need to care for their patient effectively and efficiently.

In Highland most of our Connect Me services are now being provided by the Inhealthcare remote health monitoring platform.

By March 2023 we expect to have completed our move away from using Florence (in use in Highland since 2015) towards Inhealthcare, in order to benefit from its greater versatility. Our COPD service is provided by the StormID Lenus system.

With Connect Me (provided by Inhealthcare) you have a choice of communication methods depending on the technology you have access to or are most comfortable with:

• Online - Connect Me sends you emails and you log into the Inhealthcare patient website to respond with your readings, or you can use the free My Inhealthcare app
• Text messages – Connect Me sends you text messages and you respond by text
• Automated telephone calls – Connect Me rings you at set times and asks for your readings, you respond using the phone's number pad

You don’t need any special digital devices or knowledge to use Connect Me – all you need is a telephone (landline or mobile).

Use of Connect Me is completely free-of-charge to patients.

Occasionally, mobile phone service providers warn you that there will be a charge for sending a text message to Connect Me.  However, this isn't true - there is never any charge.

Because Connect Me uses a 5-digit (short-code) number some providers assume it is a premium rate number – but this is incorrect.  Connect Me uses a free-to-text number – so just ignore any warning that you will be charged, it is not true.  Unfortunately, a few providers block text messages to Connect Me, because they block all short-code numbers assuming they are all premium rate numbers.

The most common use of Connect Me is within primary care, where GPs and practice nurses enrol patients with hypertension (high blood pressure) or suspected hypertension. 

Connect Me will contact you twice a day to ask for your blood pressure reading.  You take your blood pressure and send the reading back to Connect Me.  If your BP reading is concerning, Connect Me may respond with some advice about what you should do.

For diagnosis of high blood pressure you will be asked for readings every day, but once diagnosed you will only be asked for readings on two days a week or even just one day a month.  Your GP will be sent a report of your BP readings at regular intervals, so they can assess whether you have high blood pressure or check your medication is working effectively, without you having to make repeated visits to the surgery.

Your GP practice may be able to loan you a blood pressure monitor, but we would always encourage you to buy your own if you are able to.

Connect Me is currently being used to support people with:

• Asthma
• Chronic pain
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• COVID-19
• Heart failure

New services are in development or discussion, including services for

• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Lymphoedema
• Medication reminders

... with more to follow.

Depending on your own circumstances, Connect Me may:

• Help you to keep yourself as healthy as possible
• Enable you to track your own readings over time
• Provide reassurance that your readings are within the normal range
• Help you take the right action if you have a "flare-up"
• Enable your doctor or nurse to make informed decisions about your healthcare
• Enable you to give healthcare staff full details about your symptoms
• Reduce the need to attend hospital or GP appointments

We believe that use of Connect Me can lead to improved long-term outcomes.

Patients are enrolled on Connect Me by their healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or physiotherapist.

If your healthcare professional thinks you would benefit from using Connect Me, they will discuss it with you before enrolling you.

Visit the national Connect Me website.