For the past 15 years, Chris has battled Type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure. He has a pacemaker and takes blood thinners to prevent clots, boasting a list of allergies he jokes is “12 miles long.” “I have a pretty good memory, but I do forget things sometimes, and a lot of my meds, I can’t forget because it could be dangerous,” Chris said.
A little over a year ago, one of Adams’ doctors recommended the Ibis Health program to help him better manage his well-being in between visits to the office. As a Medicare-covered service, she thought it might be especially beneficial to keep him on track with the long list of medications he needs to take each day.
Chris looks forward to using his IbisHub tablet each day to record his blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation and exercise. Daily medication reminders help prevent him from missing any doses. “There are a few days that I’ve skipped using the tablet, but for the first year, I don’t think I missed more than one day,” he said. “I like it because it’s helping me to become a better version of myself.”
Ibis Health is helping to support thousands of retirees like Chris to feel their best and stay independent. With a remote care team and daily reminders from a connected tablet at home, Ibis helps members stay healthy and avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency department or the hospital.
Ibis Member Advocates work one-on-one with each member to set goals and provide the encouragement to achieve them. Daily medication reminders, vitals and symptom monitoring and other self-management tools create insights for timely intervention and early detection. Ibis Health users have seen a 37 percent decline in hospitalizations and do better at taking all their medications on time and as prescribed.
Tracking his activities through the tablet keeps Chris going and helps improve his mood, despite the fatigue he often feels. Chris also enjoys the relationship with Donna, his Ibis Health Member Advocate, who checks in on him regularly. He says the positive reinforcement he receives from Donna has helped him keep up with the program and his overall health has improved because of it.
With the support of Ibis Health, Adams continues to enjoy the good things in life: Spending time with his wife, watching football and staying in touch with former coworkers. He gets up early in the morning to practice martial arts, and he and his wife started visiting a local senior center where they’ve made a lot of good friends. And Chris is looking forward to becoming a grandpa for the second time.
“If you want to get committed to your health and don’t quite know how, the tablet is the best thing for you,” Adams said. “The people at Ibis Health are a unique bunch, because they genuinely care about the people in the program…I have a lot of fun talking to Donna. We need more people like you folks at Ibis.”
