April 11, 2005 Health Hero Network 510K
HEALTH HERO NETWORK RECEIVES FDA CLEARANCE FOR NEW HEALTH BUDDY® APPLIANCE
Health Buddy system improves chronic care by coaching and monitoring patients at home
Mountain View, CA –April 11, 2005 – Health Hero Network announced today that it has received FDA clearance for the new Health Buddy appliance for use with devices that measure blood pressure, blood glucose, respiratory functions, and weight. The Health Buddy system coaches and monitors patients at home and sends timely health status information to health care providers for review on the web.
“The launch of the new Health Buddy appliance continues Health Hero Network’s drive to transform the relationship between patients, their health, and the health care system to improve care for chronic illness, as well as significantly reduce costs,” said Steve Brown, CEO of Health Hero Network. “This powerful technology platform has become a true electronic health coach, opening the door to new applications and advances in chronic care for years to come.”
The new Health Buddy appliance has an easy-to-use design to help patients with chronic conditions monitor their health, receive daily coaching and education about their conditions, and engage in two-way communication with their health care providers – all from home. The enhanced Health Buddy appliance is designed to include ports to connect multiple medical devices, as well as a large, high-resolution color screen, a powerful microprocessor, and larger buttons for enhanced usability.
Devices supported by the new Health Buddy appliance include:
Blood Glucose Meters:
• Abbott FreeStyle® Blood Glucose Monitoring System
• Abbott Freestyle Flash™ Blood Glucose Monitoring System
• Lifescan One-Touch® Ultra®
Blood Pressure Meters:
• A & D Medical, Model UA767-PC
Electronic Weight Scales:
• Lifesource™, Model UC-321
• Lifesource™, Model UC-321PL
Peak Flow Meter:
• Microlife®, Peak Flow Meter, Model PF-100
Patients engage with the Health Buddy appliance in a short, daily interaction aimed at coaching them about their health and assessing their condition. By simply pressing a blue button or plugging their medical devices into the Health Buddy appliance, patients automatically send timely health status information to their care providers. The health care provider is then able to use Health Hero Network’s web-based application to quickly assess the patient’s condition and intervene if there is cause for concern.
Currently installed in over 5,000 patient homes, the Health Buddy system has proven to improve health care provider communication with patients, improve patient self-management, and reduce health care costs.
About Health Hero Network
Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy® system for health improvement. The Health Buddy system serves as the interface between patients at home and care providers, facilitating patient education and monitoring of chronic conditions. The system includes monitoring technologies, clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy system improves the quality of care. Based in Mountain View, California, Health Hero Network’s systems are protected by over 55 issued US patents. http://www.healthhero.com
