Merlin@home Cost?

Can anybody tell me what the St. Jude Medical RF Merlin@Home transmitter cost?. Does it work well?.

5 Comments

Me too

by ccmoore - 2010-02-03 11:02:26

I have a Merlin@Home. Supplied at no costs. I only have an electrical problem so I only download the data before a EP or Cardio appointment; which I have tomorrow and next week. The data is downloaded and my EP has access to it.

The Merlin can only download data, no adjustments to the PM/ICD are possible. You sit in a chair, open the device put the wand over the PM/ICD and the whole thing is automatic. Takes about 5-10 minutes.

The only thing that I don't like is that I have to pry a copy of the data out of my EP. When the tech ran the tests at the EP or Cardio office he is more than willing to give me a copy of the results.

I have to check to see if I can get access to the data from my home computer, that would be cool.

Later,
Charlie

No charge to patient

by pacemaker writer - 2010-02-04 05:02:07

I used to work at St. Jude Medical and I'm pretty sure things have not changed--the Merlin@home is provided free to the patient. I think clinics and hospitals have various arrangements for payments, but the patient (that's you!) is not charged.

The remote send-in not for everybody

by cbaker - 2010-02-08 06:02:01

I agree with you Charlie -- it's too hard to get copies of your report when you send over the phone. Also, St. Jude (like the other companies) does not let you access the data online (the way your doc accesses it). St. Jude says the docs must release the info, and meanwhile the docs say (my friend asked) that St. Jude doesn't let them give you access. A who's-on-first situation. We should be able to get our reports online with passwords, just like we do our bank accounts. The remote monitoring is good for people who have a hard time getting to the docs, but I would rather get info in person.

Lenexa, ask your doc if they are on the remote system -- they're the ones who arrange to get you a transmitter. If you just got your PM, probably one is in the mail.

Convenience and safety

by realkarl - 2010-02-08 07:02:49

cbaker: thanks for replying to the thread I started a while back on a similar topic.

I have had the Merlin@home system for 3 weeks now, and I like it, despite having to pay $20/month for a telephone landline, which I didn't have previously.

In steady-state operation, it reads my PM daily, and calls in weekly to upload data. If nothing is wrong, there is no feedback, but if it should detect an anomaly, my doctor will be contacted, and if urgent, a light go on (I think).

My clinic decides when to get a full download, I think they have set it monthly or semi-monthly for me. Then I don't have to come in more than once/year after the 1st year. I like the extra safety of early detection of any potential problem.

However, it really is a shame we can't access our own medical data directly! I got a printout of the data and graphs after my 2 week in-clinic check and I love the technical details, bar charts of heart rates, battery and lead info etc, detected episodes (none for me, fortunately). After the first full download end of February, I will ask my nurse for a copy. We shall see how that goes...

correction

by realkarl - 2010-02-08 07:02:58

In the above, read bi-monthly instead of semi-monthly..

Also, my PM setup is relatively simple: CRT-P (biventricular pacing due to LBBB), DDD mode, no a-fib or SSS.

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