Beginning in late 2012, hospitals are being penalized for Medicare patients requiring readmission within 30 days of treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic heart failure.

Hospitals are changing their discharge procedures to achieve these goals but ultimately the patient is responsible for staying on track outside the hospital. You can also buy pulse oximeter tester online by surfing the internet.

There are several hospital focus groups with expanded follow-ups for patients after discharge investigating the most effective way to keep patients on track outside of the hospital walls but these groups incur more costs to the hospital and in these days of reduced Medicare reimbursements don't yet fit into the budget.

To avoid being a statistic in the new policy, you can take some measures on your own to stabilize your chronic heart and lung conditions with the home use of a pulse oximeter.

Pulse Oximeters are used to spot check COPD, CHF, and asthma patients that are on supplemental oxygen at home. If oxygen saturation levels drop below a doctor-recommended level the patient can administer oxygen to manage their situation.

Avoiding low spikes allows the patient to live a more normal life without fear of having their condition get the best of them at the wrong time.

Pulse Oximeters are used to measure oxygen levels in the blood. These electronic devices use light-emitting diodes projecting light through an extremity like a finger.

One LED is infra-red wavelength and the other is red wavelength. Oxygenated hemoglobin absorbs infra-red light while deoxygenated hemoglobin absorbs red light.