Pacemaker home monitor

I have had a pacemaker for 13 years. The first one was 10 years and now my second one is 3 years. I have a StJude with Merlin home remote. It is still working on a landline which costs me $60 a month. They once before, about 5 years ago sent me the equipment to make it WiFi. It didn't work with our Wi-Fi for some reason so I just stayed with the landline 

Well my remote I have is beat. I'm getting calls asking if it's working because they haven't seen it. So today I called the tech department for Merlin and explained I need a new monitor and want it WiFi compatible. The man was very rude and told me there's nothing wrong with the one I have and they won't replace it. They want to send me the WiFi kit again. They insist they have no other models available.

So my question I remember when they sent the last WiFi kit they had a monthly charge to use it. Does this still apply?

I'm at the point I am going to tell my doctor to take me off home monitoring all together. I've never had issues other than when my pacer got close to needing to be replaced. Do other people go without it? I believe if I don't have it I will just have to be seen every 3 months instead of 6 months.

Does anyone have any knowledge of these things?

6 Comments

Landline

by piglet22 - 2024-06-21 19:46:37

I'm guessing a bit here, but it sounds as though you have some old technology at work.

Data over landline was the preserve of the 57 kB modem.

This was superceded by broadband technology which upped the data rate to tens of Mega bits/second.

The telecom utility pipes in a line, copper or fibre through which you can access the internet. WiFi is simply a local wireless network that allows you to connect to the internet without cables.

You transfer data like banking through your home router to the utility access to the wider internet.

Another variation like my Medtronic MyCareLink works by using GSM which is the mobile data network.

 My Medtronic monitor has a Vodafone card and transceiver that costs me nothing and works independently of the utility copper or fibre.

Newer devices connect from implant to base unit by Bluetooth then base unit to internet by WiFi or cable.

Landline phones have largely disappeared on BT (UK) systems so devices like intruder, healthcare alarms have been moved over to purely digital connections.

I wonder if your monitor provider is being upfront with you.

Ask them why you still need a landline when others have adopted GSM or broadband?

A possible answer might be that you are in rural location with dialup modems and high speed broadband or cellular coverage is simply not available.

The last time I came into contact with dialup modems would have been late 90s to early 2000s

St Jude WiFi Connected

by Stache - 2024-06-22 22:40:17

I have a St Jude with Merlin home remote for a little over three years.  My unit came with a mobile data network stick that plugs into it and transmits wirelessly 24/7.  No dial up required and there is no fee from my medical provider Kaiser Permanente.  Here in California, the copper dial-up wire was removed and we only have WiFi or fiber lines for telephones.

Rude

by piglet22 - 2024-06-23 09:47:43

I don't think they are treating you very well and I wouldn't take that rudeness.

If your base unit has a USB socket, you can get an adaptor USB to WiFi for less than £10.

Similarly USB to GSM (mobile data network)

It sounds to me that they don't want to put any effort in.

Even things like light bulbs connect to WiFi, but the fly in the ointment is that it needs to connect to their network.

If all else fails, next time you need a replacement, tell your people in clinic you don't want St Jude.

To add insult to injury, the use of home monitoring in the UK has allowed them to close the F2F clinics and I now get "virtual" device clinics.

If that's what's behind it where you are, then I can't see why you have to foot the bill.

Alteratively, someone is off-loading old equipment.

10 years

by rolson - 2024-06-24 02:34:46

I've had my first for ten years now and after 5 years I only plug in the monitor before transmitting and then unplug and put back in a drawer. I have medtronic but I bet if they wanted to they could send a new one.  Tell your doctor.  Also,  when you got your new pacer they should have given you a new monitor.  Imma thinking. 

monitor

by Tracey_E - 2024-06-25 19:36:36

Mine is from 2015 about about the same as yours. It uses cellular. Like Stache, they sent a stick thingy a couple of years ago to upgrade it. It doesn't use my wifi or landline. 

Monitor

by piglet22 - 2024-06-29 05:08:32

There's no real case for for landline (copper wire) connections for devices like home monitors especially if using second generation audio modems.

There are alternatives. GSM (mobile network, cellular). Copper broadband is still fast. Ultimately, hopefully full fibre will be universal.

I'm sceptical about the motives for providing home monitors.

My Medtronic MyCareLink does nothing to help me and introducing it some years ago was simply to enable the health trust to close physical clinics. I wouldn't be too pleased if I had to pay for for usage on top.

If it actively monitored me it would be a different story.

Several times now I've had PM initiated blackouts and because I need to manually connect to the base unit, it would be useless in an emergency.

I'm hoping that sometime in the next year, I'll get a Bluetooth device that can connect to phone or at least send out a message when something bad happens.

You know you're wired when...

Your old device becomes a paper weight for your desk.

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