NATCHEZ &045; A small electronic device is having a big impact on lives of homebound patients of South Mississippi Home Care and Hospice.

Named &uot;Health Buddy,&uot; the device keeps patients and care givers connected on a routine daily basis, said Lisa Huffines, director of the Natchez office.

&uot;It’s a way for patients to feel more protected,&uot; she said. &uot;There are 16 different programs individualized to the patient’s need. When we take it to the patient, it’s specific to that patient.&uot;

The Health Buddy plugs into a telephone line and an electrical outlet. The patient can use it any time of the day, and it costs nothing to use, nor is there any cost to Medicare.

The device automatically connects to a toll-free number to reach the secure Internet site used by the home care and hospice office.

Management programs offered by the monitor include heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, artery disease, bi-polar disorder, cystic fibrosis and others.

Donna Buckles, a case manager, demonstrated the device Thursday, explaining that it had been programmed for a patient with congestive heart failure.

Four buttons below a small screen give the patient options for answering questions that appear on the screen.

&uot;Did you weigh yourself today?&uot;

If the patient answers yes, the Health Buddy responds with other questions, &uot;What is your weight?&uot; and &uot;Is it more or less than last time you weighed?&uot;

The questions are simple and easy to follow, Buckles said. However, they are appropriate to the patient’s case and provide a good look at his or her condition at the time.

&uot;Do you feel dizzy?&uot; &uot;Have you taken your medicines?&uot; &uot;If not, why not?&uot;

The Health Buddy prompts the patient to make calls to the case manger or the pharmacist or gives other instructions.

In addition, the device includes educational prompts, reminding the patient about how to relieve fluid build-up, follow the low-sodium diet or to choose proper serving sizes of foods.

&uot;I get on the Internet on a secure sight and can look at the questions and how they answered them,&uot; Buckles said. &uot;I can call patients or have a nurse follow up with some further information when necessary.&uot;

The Internet site is color coded, Huffines said. &uot;The case manager’s eye is drawn to the red on the screen, which tells her something is amiss&uot; when the patient’s information gets to the site.

From the information collected, nurses can provide the patient’s physician a trend report on how the patient answers questions.

&uot;You can see by this trend report how the patient answered,&uot; Buckles said, explaining graphs shown on a report on which the patient’s name had been removed to protect privacy. &uot;You can tell that she had a problem and when it occurred.&uot;

The Health Buddy is an efficient way to keep in touch with patients, Huffines said. &uot;We’re limited in resources just like a hospital,&uot; she said. &uot;This is a more efficient use of our resources.&uot;

The overall goal of the program is to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations or other costly medical interventions.

South Mississippi Home Care and Hospice works in 36 counties through 15 branch offices. The Health Buddy system was introduced in January and now serves 73 patients.

The Natchez office, 112 Lower Woodville Road, opened in the early 1980s and employs 40.