Merlin@home Cost?

monitor

by capecod - 2019-01-09 10:14:46

i have had this home monitor for 4 years. as i have been told,  there is a daily checkin between your device and the remote. this usually takes place while you are sleeping, mine is between 2-4 AM. the information goes to your clinic and you will be notified if there is a problem. the specific information depends on your doctors directions, your clinic can tell you exactly what he has requested to be monitored. 

the monitor also alerts your clinic if there is a problem with your battery.  im not sure there is a privacy issue....perhaps as it relates to insurance but this is not a concern for me.  your clinic should be able to answer these questions in addition to cost. my device is,provided by my clinic and i do not personally pay any fees.....covered by my insurance. 

if you google home mo itors on this site you will find that some folks do not use them. i do and take it with me when i travel. gives me a sense of security in addition to the vibration alert on my device. 

good luck....whats most important is that you and your husband understand  the process and are comfortable with it. 

good luck

patty

Home monitoring

by michellep - 2019-01-09 10:49:35

My FIL had a Merlin for many years. There is no additional cost. His plugged into his phone line. The only information transmitted is from the pacemaker/ICD. It is transmitted to your cardiologist of choice. As the previous commenter said, it downloads daily, while you are sleeping. If you're not there, it will download the next time you are. It sends a readout of what your heart has been doing, rhythm wise, what percentage of time the heart has been paced / beating on its own, and amount of battery remaining. If you use it, you can ask your cardiologist to show you the printed report when you go for an appointment. It will also let your doctor know if there are any problems with the unit. It is much like the pacemaker interrogation they do at the doctor's office (where they put the round thing with a cord attached to a computer over your pacemaker).

I now have an ICD and use the Boston Scientific equivalent of the Merlin. I have only had mine a few weeks so have not yet seen a report.

I hope this puts your mind at ease. It makes me feel more secure that my heart activity is being monitored.

cost

by essiecab - 2019-01-09 11:10:49

Thanks for the answers. I forgot to say that we don't have a landline. Maybe the cost of the wireless adapter is charged up front, I don't know. St. Jude's own literature on their website made it sound like there would be additional cost associated with that adapter, and also I saw a couple of people (on this site?) saying that there was a monthly fee for the monitoring, that's why I became concerned about the cost.

If he doesn't want any of the monitoring whatsoever, he can just go to the doctor's office to have it checked, is that right?

Landline

by Brettmalec - 2019-01-09 15:09:28

Lol, Robin, I'm happy that Medtronic finally stepped into this century as well. those old big plastic boxes that were wired everywhere where a pain to deal with. Even when I got my original one 10 years ago who still used a landline? 😂