A doctor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) at the Permian Basin, is conducting housecalls for his diabetic patients, as part of a continuing project in partnership with global healthcare provider healthimo.
Stephen Ponder, MD, professor of pediatrics at TTUHSC, is a pediatric endocrinologist with extensive experience and publications on treating children and teens with Type 1 diabetes. He also has almost a decade of experience in telehealth strategies.
Ponder has been working with Dallas-based healthimo since 2007. Healthimo provides the necessary educational and technology support to conduct Ponder's diabetes telehealth program.
After an initial patient assessment is conducted in person, Ponder's patients can enroll with healthimo to receive care via the Internet. Healthimo takes care of all telehealth training, education and support as a service covered by the patient's health plan and co-manages the Diabetes HouseCall for Ponder and his patients. (Diabetes Housecall is a trademark of Diabetech, LP D/B/A healthimo.)
In Ponder's first Diabetes Housecall the patient and her family were in their Lufkin, Texas, home while Ponder remained in his Odessa, Texas, clinic office – saving them the expense of travelling more than 1,000 miles.
Ponder said that using the healthimo technology platform and patient management services, the patient and family were able to see Ponder and make sure her diabetes was under control.
"The use of the healthimo service, including widely-available Internet and other communication technologies allows me to continually educate, monitor and motivate my patients in their diabetes care without wasting time driving hours for each visit," Ponder said.
Ponder said the program allows patients to continue to use home-based Internet visits for follow-up care and can receive annual face-to-face care through him. But he says, each patient must reside in Texas and have a local medical home to be eligible.
