Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
This is Valerie VanBooven with The Senior Care Industry Netcast, where leaders with three or more years of experience in the senior care market share their advice. Let's get to it.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
In a few sentences, tell us who you are and what you do.
David Brown:
Thank you, Valerie. I'm David Brown and I'm a owner for Central Coast RX2Live and we help seniors with their health and wellness.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Sure. Tell us, I've been to your website, I've looked at around. I know you do a lot of things for doctors' offices. I know you do a lot of things for seniors. You have a whole suite of services. Tell us what is the best thing about serving aging adults? It looks like you've been doing this for a while now.
David Brown:
Well, yes. The best thing is the ability to make an impact on someone's life and make it better, either for some comfort or even if it's the help of a loved one. It gives that peace of mind to the adult children caring for a senior parent or a great aunt. It doesn't have to be a direct offspring, but it's a loved one, that they know that they're well cared for. They can monitor their own health and share that information with their support team.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Tell us a little bit about RX2Live. We're talking about remote patient monitoring, right? Or virtual [crosstalk 00:01:46]
David Brown:
Correct.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Right. Tell us a little bit about what you guys do.
David Brown:
Okay. RX2Live is a, if you will, a distributor of information and products for the health and wellness industry. We provide for physicians, we provide for senior centers and SNFs, if you will, skilled nursing facilities. We also provide for corporations in a number of ways. Our goal is to touch over a million lives and improve them with health and wellness.
David Brown:
In the remote patient monitoring space, we provide that through a wearable device and that's similar to an Apple Watch, you can even use your Apple Watch. It doesn't have to be our device, it just has to be the monitoring. This particular device that we have monitors various components of your health and not all watches will do that, but any watch can have it, so.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
True. So you wear the watch and it knows that you have a pulse. It can monitor your blood pressure if they put in their blood sugars and the family can see all that on their corresponding app on their phones. Right?
David Brown:
Correct. [crosstalk 00:03:20] You can get it downloaded right onto your phone. It also allows your provider or your primary care physician or any physician to monitor it as well and they can set benchmarks for different alerts. If your heart rate is exceeding a particular level, or your temperature is higher than it's supposed to be or lower than it's supposed to be. The same is true with your blood pressure. If it's too high or too low, it can send an alert to your phone, your family, your physician, and everybody's up to speed as to what's going on in your present condition.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
That's awesome. The more we can do... I think the last two years have proven to us that there are very creative ways to help each other and to help our aging family members. One of them is having wearable devices or remote monitoring, whether it's getting it on the phone. Even if you just think about it from the perspective of FaceTiming with somebody or getting on an Amazon thing or whatever it is. There's great ways, and when there are devices that are specific to health, that really helps your doctor understand more about what goes on with you on a day to day basis, and your family knows that you're safe and that you're okay. Or on the other hand, you're not safe, you're not okay. Something's wrong. Obviously, they can see it on their phone. Why is your heart rate 200 right now? Something might might be wrong. So it's time to make a phone call and check in. That's awesome. I'm glad that you guys have that availability, we'll make sure that your website address and the link straight to that remote patient monitoring is with your interview.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
My other questions are around leadership and organizations. I would imagine in your career, that you have had experience with or encountered organizations that you just think do an amazing job for people. Who is it that you would like to share with us or talk about that you think have made a good impact on you?
David Brown:
Probably the most significant to me and the most I have contact with is our local Meals on Wheels. It's not just about the meal, when these volunteers go out and deliver a meal, one, it has the nutrition and it... But the reason people have Meals on Wheels is they're also shut in. Being shut in, you're also shut out. So it's that contact and that security that somebody is coming by to check on me, deliver my meal and share a smile, share some commonality of what a beautiful day to day is and a greeting and says, "How's your cat?" "How's your son?" Or make a connection there with that individual and be part of their support team, so they don't feel like there isn't anyone who cares.
David Brown:
Meals on Wheels is just a huge and direct impact for so many and a support line, a resource. It could be, "Hey, I can't get on a ladder and I need a light bulb changed. Have you got two extra minutes to do that for me?" There's so many little things that people need and it's the little things that make a huge difference for so many of us. If I were to make a shout-out, it would be to Meals on Wheels.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
I appreciate that because every little municipality in our world has their own Meals on Wheels setup, whether it's a big county organization or small churches or whatever the case, everybody does it a little different, but it's still something that, at least here in the US, we know is so important. You're right, my 94 year-old grandfather is very independent and he delivered Meals on Wheels up until a few months ago. He doesn't do it when the weather's bad, but he would be delivering Meals on Wheels to people who were 20 years younger than him who were shut in and unfortunately didn't have good health, but he was the light of their day.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
When he would visit them, he as a senior, would take the time to slow down and talk and make a connection with them. I know that lots of times, people go into a home just to deliver a meal and they realize something's very wrong and they're able to say something and report that. So it's just another set of eyes and another set of conversations to help that person feel like people out there care about them. So you're right, it's a great thing to do. Great thing to volunteer for. Absolutely.
David Brown:
It is a great program and it can make a... Your impact is beyond what you think it could be because you're an advocate for somebody, a senior that's out there that lacks a resource of one kind or another and you can make that really significant difference in someone's life.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Sure, absolutely. Let's talk a little bit about marketing. The last two years have impacted all of us and no matter what you're marketing, things have changed a little bit, especially in the in-person and face-to-face marketing has changed. In some places, everything's wide open and in other places, still shut down. I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but of course, I've been saying that for at least a year. What has changed for you with regard to marketing? What are you doing to make sure people know about whatever services you might be providing?
David Brown:
A lot of my marketing is with influencers like yourself and audiences that I can't reach in the traditional methods. I've, looking at how can I share this information with others? I look at marketing as a knowledge base, not as a product pushing type of opportunity, but as, what knowledge do you need to come to a conclusion and what's out there? We may not even know some of the things that occur, because I think some of my own products are the world's best kept secrets. I feel like we're part of the CIA or something and we can't tell anybody type of thing.
David Brown:
In this world, it's networking, telling others through community groups like Meals on Wheels or others that have a need. I do a lot through the independent healthcare whereby the nurse practitioners that have four or five dozen clients that are home-bound and need remote patient monitoring, because they can't afford full-time assistance, but they need 24 hour monitoring. This satisfies a lot of that. They might need help in bathing or meal preparation or just getting dressed. This augments that because you don't have to afford or be there 24/7 for somebody, if they're wearing their monitor.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
You're right.
David Brown:
It keeps them... From a marketing perspective, I'm looking to those types of users who want to leverage their opportunities with seniors. That's one difference and a lot of that is, like I said, through communication, either their trade associations or places like that.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Education is the key for sure. Remote patient monitoring isn't something that everyone's used to yet, but certainly has found its place now I think, and will continue to be a growing part of healthcare. Whether it's the big hospitals getting into it or small individual practices, we're going to see remote patient monitoring and virtual caregiving is going continue to help [crosstalk 00:12:36]
David Brown:
Valerie, it is covered by Medicare if your doctor makes the prescription and it's real simple because they want it as well. The user doesn't necessarily have to pay for it if they're part of Medicare. It's really simple to go to your physician and say, "Hey, I'd like to have this. It'd be beneficial for myself. It'd be beneficial for you, because you don't know what's going on when I'm not in your office. As a provider or my primary care provider, how can we work together on this?"
David Brown:
It does measure everything from glucose, oxygen content. If you're COPD, it's useful, if you're a cardiac patient, it's very useful for blood pressure and things of that nature. So there's not a real limitation to it, if you're concerned or have those concerns. Sometimes it's not the patient it's... We call helicopter parents these days, but now we have some helicopter kids or adult kids that want to make sure everything's good with mom, dad. That's a good thing. They're just reciprocating in a generational divide there, if you will. My own kids, they have their children and instead of helicopter parents, I call them drone parents, they're right there taking the photos and everything else.
David Brown:
This allows you to do that in a non evasive way and be in touch in a good way. It'll actually tell you, as talking to your father, 97 year-old father, "Hey, Dad, I see you've slowed down today. You only took 1,000 instead of your normal 2,000. Are you feeling okay? Is everything..." You could actually monitor that and be a part of that continued health.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
It definitely has its place and it's taken off. I think the part you mentioned about being able to afford care is a huge issue. If someone could use somebody in the house every day, but really can't afford that, having remote patient monitoring or virtual caregiving, having that watch, having that ability to monitor them when they can't have... There's a caregiver maybe in there three days a week, but two days a week, we're just relying or maybe at night, there's a caregiver, but during the day, we're relying on making sure they're up and around. Those are the kinds of things that it's also helping with, is the affordability of care, when they do have to pay for some other things private pay.
David Brown:
Right. It shifts that cost onto the programs you're already a part of, whether it be Medicare or otherwise, and it's relatively inexpensive for it. They'll give the device away, so there's no cost for the actual watch. It's a monthly subscription kind of a thing that you would adhere to. It would be different levels on how many people are accessing that. It also provides for GPS or geofencing. So for dementia, potential patients, it'll be easier to track.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Yeah. If they wander. Yeah. If they're a wanderer and they live in an area where they can walk around outside, that would be good to know. I'd be good to know [crosstalk 00:16:35]
David Brown:
It has those features and it makes it, like I said, it's for feeling that peace of mind for your loved one, that they're well, and it may even prevent you from calling them on a daily basis. You can see they're doing right and say, "I don't want to bother you again today," or be that big brother type of personality. You reach out when you want to, as again, a loved one and someone who cares about another.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Absolutely. Well, one of my last questions is about celebrations. Now, I ask everybody this, this is supposed to be my fun question. I'm sure you have a team, maybe a small team, a large team, a family, whatever it is, when you all have a big win or celebrate a birthday, or celebrate a wedding, how do you like to celebrate? What is your best way of celebrating good things in life that happen?
David Brown:
Earlier today, every Thursday, I call it Thank You Thursdays.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Nice.
David Brown:
I send out thank-you notes to people that have been, that have... Expect a thank-you note from me for today's conversation. I send out thank-you notes because I want people to know that they are appreciated. It's actually almost automated for me because I have a system that helps me in that, but they're all handwritten, they're all hand-stamped and hand-addressed. I celebrate those achievements with a congratulations or a note, a personal note to individuals that have impacted me in my life, or I know that they've done something else for somebody.
David Brown:
I'll give you an example. This past weekend, I needed to borrow a pickup to drive from here to Sacramento, it's a six hour drive one way. I don't own a pickup, but a friend of mine does. He was happy to swap cars with me, and not that I drive a Ferrari or anything, it wasn't unique in any way. It's just a beater-up Ford Edge. Today, I sent him a thank-you note because appreciate him doing that. So I celebrate with thank-you notes.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
I think that's great. There is an art to a handwritten thank-you note and there's a huge appreciation for all generations when they receive a little something that is an appreciation. I know that it's less often in our lives that we receive a handwritten thank-you note. That's a good thing. Thank you for sharing that.
David Brown:
To send an email is just too impersonal. I don't know if they'll open it.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
That's true.
David Brown:
I celebrate with thank-you notes and I'm pretty religious about making sure they go out.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
That's great, because I think it's also a great way to network. If it's a professional to professional thank you, that's a great way to network with people and show your gratitude. Thank you for that piece of advice. That's a great way to celebrate.
David Brown:
It works and it allows it to be personal because it is a personal note.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Yeah. Absolutely. Well, I want to thank you for sharing with us about remote patient monitoring, what you do. We'll make sure all of your contact information is with your video. I want you to keep us up to date on what's going on and hook up with us again and let's do another interview in a few months and see what's happening.
David Brown:
I'd love to. Valerie, thank you so much. Thank you for all you do in support of our seniors and keeping them well and safe. I know it's appreciated by so many.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Thank you.