Do We Need New Personalized Emergency Telehealth Solutions? A Survey of 100 Emergency Department Patients and a First Report of the Swiss Limmex Emergency Wristwatch: An Original Study

Development of new personal mobile and wireless devices for healthcare has become essential due to our aging population characterized by constant rise in chronic diseases that consequently require a complex treatment and close monitoring. Personal telehealth devices allow patients to adequately receive their appropriate treatment, followup with their doctors, and report any emergency without the need of the presence of any caregivers with them thus increasing their quality of life in a cost-effective fashion. This paper includes a brief overview of personal telehealth systems, a survey of 100 consecutive ED patients aged >65 years, and introduces “Limmex” a new GSM based technology packaged in a wristwatch. Limmex can by a push of a button initiate multiple emergency call and establish mobile communication between the patient and a preselected person, institution, or a search and rescue service. To the best of our knowledge, Limmex is the first of its kind worldwide. 1. Background Patients with complex comorbidities who receive traditional healthcare services fail to show long-term compliance with prescribed regimens, medications, and dietary restrictions [1]. It has been shown, however, that strategies that include extrinsic motivators promote long-term compliance and reduce recidivism [2]. As the population is aging, chronic disease requiring complex treatment and close monitoring is increasing. Moreover, the number of medical personnel is dropping and both homecare nursing and medical staff are expensive. It has therefore become necessary to search for ambitious alternative solutions, which could help the patient to receive adequate treatment and followup from their doctors and to report any emergency, even in the absence of any caregivers and without having to memorize or save emergency numbers, especially when the primary contact is not available. In an ongoing pilot study at our university hospital emergency department, 40% of interviewed patients (>65 years) were not able to recall emergency telephone numbers. Forty-two percent (42%) of them did not own a mobile phone. Thirty-three percent (33%) thought that, in an emergency, more than one hour might pass until somebody noticed. Thirty-seven patients (37%) thought that up to 30 minutes might pass before anyone was notified of their emergency. Almost 40% of the patients communicated their wish to have faster access to medical assistance. Telemedicine and telehealth, especially personalized handheld devices, can offer a new approach to these problems. Telemedicine (TM) is the use of medical