Home Talk/Healthy Talk: improving patient's health status with telephone technology

Abstract

This article describes Home Talk and Healthy Talk, two practical applications of telephone technology developed at the VNA of Cleveland. Home Talk is a disease-specific monitoring system with preprogrammed automated questions that immediately score patient responses. If any responses fall out of the safety zone, the system calls the supervisor and a live intervention follows for assessment and appropriate action. Healthy Talk is a series of age-specific automated health screens used by nurses in community centers to engage clients to follow through with self-selected health goals. The use, cost-effectiveness, and impact on outcomes are also discussed.