Massachusetts-based VNA Care is using SHL Telemedicine’s SmartHeart 12-lead ECG technology in its home health care services so patients can come home from hospital sooner, avoid stays in health care facilities or learn to manage a newly diagnosed illness or disease.

VNA Care will deploy this compact and portable technology in the home setting. SmartHeart is the first device of its kind to allow the transmission of a full hospital-grade 12-lead ECG using a smartphone or tablet.

FDA-cleared for use by patients and providers, the SmartHeart helps clinicians maintain continuity of care outside the hospital or medical office. Its user-friendly electrode belt wraps around the chest and requires fewer wires than a traditional ECG machine and no gel or sticky tabs, allowing clinicians and patients to perform the ECG wherever they are, transmitting results to the provider within 30 seconds.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with VNA Care, a leading organisation in the fields of home healthcare, hospice and community care, with long standing history and reputation” said Erez Nachtomy, CEO of Israeli firm SHL Telemedicine. “We believe that the use of our SmartHeart technology within the VNA Care range of healthcare services will have important clinical implications and improve patient care and satisfaction.”

Adding the capability of remote full 12-lead ECG monitoring through SmartHeart technology should bolster both the clinical and telemedicine programmes VNA Care already offers to patients in their homes, enhancing care coordination and enabling patients to manage their own health with the support of a multi-disciplinary clinical team.

“As we continue to provide innovative in-home solutions for our patients, we are pleased to launch our collaboration with SHL Telemedicine,” said Jane Pike-Benton, chief clinical officer of VNA Care. “The ease of use of the SmartHeart will enable a higher degree of self-care, improved patient outcomes and enhance the patient’s overall experience of care.”

VNA Care’s non-profit visiting nurse associations – VNA Care Network, VNA of Boston and VNA Hospice & Palliative Care – have served thousands of patients throughout central and eastern Massachusetts during its 135-year history.

It provides IV therapy services, disease management and specialty services including diabetes, wound care, falls prevention, geriatric care, joint replacement therapies and medication management. The firm also offers palliative and hospice care for individuals with advanced or terminal illnesses.

SHL Telemedicine develops and markets personal telemedicine systems and provides medical call-centre services, with a focus on cardiovascular and related diseases, to end users and to the healthcare community.