The doctor is always comfortable with the smartphone gadget that can perform home video exams



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Klemz is one of the first users of a new service offered by Sanford Health, which uses a gadget badociated with a smartphone or tablet, which can diagnose minor health issues without consulting a doctor in a clinic .

The device, called TytoHome, is selling for $ 299 and can be purchased from Sanford or BestBuy, online or at Sanford Healthcare Accessories stores. Sanford is TytoHome's exclusive supplier in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

The kit, which is ideal for a case that is not much larger than an electric shaver, includes portable devices for examining the heart, lungs, skin, ears, throat, abdomen, and waist. body temperature.

Klemz is one of 200 to 300 Sanford employees who have tried TytoHome for six months before launching it for general use. The service is now available for health video tours 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

She used it for exams possibly involving a pink eye, a rash, a cold, fever – and, on Christmas morning, to rule out the possibility of an ear infection.

"It saved lives," said Klemz, pointing out that it was convenient not to have to go to the clinic or the emergency room frequently, when problems arose late at night. "It was a really tough flu season."

The kit for the home includes a high resolution camera, thermometer, tongue depressor, as well as adapters for otoscopes and stethoscopes.

"If you can use a smartphone, you can use it," said Klemz, a graduate nurse who runs the Sanford Women's Health Services. The setup was simple and took about 20 minutes, she said.

"It guides you through every step," said Klemz.

Dr. Doug Griffin, Medical Director of the Fargo Region of Sanford, has tried TytoHome service both as a patient and as a physician.

"The quality is actually quite impressive," he said, pointing out that the image displayed on the doctor's screen was in high resolution, with a lot of detail. "You can also listen to the heart and lungs."

Sanford is one of the first, if not the first, health systems to make TytoHome available to patients, Griffin said. Sanford has been working with TytoCare, the Israeli company that makes the kit at home, for about two years to evaluate its effectiveness and usefulness, he said.

The first step was to make sure the device could provide clinical quality. "It was the # 1 concern from a clinical point of view," Griffin said.

In addition, he added, "We wanted to make sure we could connect things seamlessly through our electronic medical records."

A visit to the doctor with TytoHome costs $ 59. Some insurers pay at least part of the cost if they cover the doctor's video visits.

TytoHome is one of many methods available to facilitate access to care for patients. Some, like TytoHome, pair with smartphones, said Griffin.

"I think we will continue to see a growth in the number of video tours and virtual tours," he said. "We hope this will be very widely accepted. We must make it useful for patients. "

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