Smart way to get back to full health
PATIENTS recovering from heart procedures in remote locations near Townsville can now access rehabilitation care and monitoring from home through a new smart devices app.
Mater Private Hospital has introduced virtual cardiac rehabilitation for patients unable to attend face-to-face sessions due to travel or other issues.
The eight-week program, which has been trialled since March, includes two virtual consultations with a specialist clinician, and an in-person check-up at the hospital in the sixth week.
For the rest of the program, patients use an app de
veloped by Queensland company Cardihab, which tracks patients’ heart rate, blood pressure, and the amount of steps they’ve walked per day.
Among the 15 patients who have trialled the program is Home Hill cane farmer Stephen Fabbro, 60, who said it had made a massive difference in his recovery.
“I’m getting to the age now where I don’t feel like driving up to Townsville every week – locally our sugar cane crushing season is only 75 per cent complete so it can be hard to find time to travel and complete sessions,” Mr Fabbro said.
“The rehabilitation team visited me after my surgery and mentioned the opportunity to complete rehabilitation virtually, loaded the applications on to my phone, and everything was good to go.
“I’m back to working on the farm and performing the tasks that I was performing prior to the procedure thanks to this program.”
Exercise physiologist Shaun Whiley said participation rates for cardiac rehabilitation in regional areas was low prior to the trial beginning. He said patients in towns including Burdekin,
Charters Towers and Ravenshoe had also used the program with pleasing results.
“Rehabilitation is vitally important, not only because research suggests that those who do not rehabilitate following heart procedures have a higher chance of being rehospitalised, but so these people can return to their normal lives,” Mr Whiley said.
“Delivering virtual rehabilitation means regional and remote communities do not have to drive two or three hours to access a clinician.
“If there is anyone who cannot access cardiac rehabilitation in their region, from Mackay up to the Cape and West to the border, Mater is here.”
I’m back to working on the farm and performing the tasks that I was performing prior to the procedure STEPHEN FABBRO