The rapid evolution of healthcare has seen a lot of innovations over the last few decades. One, in particular; Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), appears to be set to transform the way doctors and patients approach ongoing healthcare.
This article discusses what RPM is, what its benefits are to both patients and doctors, and how it can help improve outcomes for patients in a wide range of health scenarios.
What is Remote Patient Monitoring?
In plain language, Remote Patient Monitoring is a subspecialty of telemedicine that allows physicians to remotely collect and monitor patients’ biomedical data, in real-time or near-real-time, using digital technologies.
What scenarios is Remote Patient Monitoring used in?
Remote Patient Monitoring can be used to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery for patients with chronic conditions, those who are post-acute care or in remote locations, or for those who require more frequent monitoring than traditional office visits allow.
What does Remote Patient Monitoring monitor?
RPM monitors medical data that may be monitored remotely. This includes but is not limited to electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG), blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation levels (SpO2), glucose levels, and respiratory rate.
The ability to collect this data outside of the traditional clinical setting has vast potential to improve population health by reducing hospitalizations and Emergency Department visits, while also allowing for earlier detection and intervention of potentially serious health concerns.
Remote Patient Monitoring benefits for patients and physicians
There are many potential benefits of RPM, both for patients and for providers. One of the most obvious benefits is that it can make it easier for patients to receive the care they need. RPM also helps providers save time and money. By collecting data remotely, providers avoid having to schedule and conduct in-person appointments that may not be necessary. In addition, because RPM gives providers more information about their patients’ conditions, they can make more informed decisions about which treatments are likely to be effective and which aren’t. This can save both time and money by avoiding unnecessary tests and procedures.
Finally, RPM has the potential to improve population health by helping to identify trends in disease before they become widespread. By collecting data from large numbers of patients over time, researchers can look for patterns that might not be apparent in smaller studies. This information can then be used to develop new treatments or prevention strategies.
We’ve put together a list of the top eight biggest advantages of RPM, to give you the full picture on why this technology making such a big impact in the healthcare system today:
Top Eight Remote Patient Monitoring Advantages
1. Improves data driven clinical decision making
In the past, clinical decision making has been largely based on the physician’s experience and intuition. However, with the advent of data-driven medicine, there is a shift towards using evidence-based decision making. RPM plays a key role in this transition by providing real-time, real-world data that can be used to inform clinical decisions.
Additionally, RPM can help to reduce the number of readmissions and hospitalizations by allowing physicians to closely monitor patients remotely. This can lead to better management of chronic conditions and improved overall health outcomes. Overall, RPM provides a wealth of data that can be used to inform clinical decision making. By using this technology, physicians can improve patient care and outcomes while also reducing costs.
2. Enhances self-management and care plan adherence
Self-management of chronic conditions is a process in which patients take an active role in their own care. This includes things like learning about their condition, understanding their treatment options, making decisions about their care, and following their care plan.
Patients who are more involved in their own care often have better health outcomes. They are also more likely to stick to their treatment plan and be adherent to their medication regimen. In chronic conditions, RPM can help provide patients with real-time feedback about their health status.
This feedback can help them understand how well they are doing and whether or not they need to make any changes to their care plan. It can also help patients track their progress over time. This information can be used to identify patterns and trends that may be helpful in making decisions about care.
RPM can even provide motivation for patients to stick to their care plan. Seeing tangible evidence of their progress can encourage patients to keep up with their self-care routine. Additionally, some RPM systems allow patients to set goals and receive rewards for meeting those goals, which can further motivate them to stay on track
3. Enables the comfort of home care
Patients receiving home care often report feeling more comfortable and independent than those who receive care in a hospital or nursing facility. This makes a huge difference to the quality of life of patients. RPM also offers many benefits for caregivers. For example, it can help reduce the risk of errors and improve communication between caregivers and patients. It can also make it easier for caregivers to coordinate care and keep track of patients’ progress. Overall, RPM provides a number of advantages for both patients and caregivers. It is an important tool for providing quality home care and improving the lives of those receiving it.
4. Reduces Cost of Care for payers and providers
RPM has been shown to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the cost of care for both payers and providers. A recent study found that RPM reduced 30-day readmissions by 55% and emergency department visits by 41%.
The study also found that RPM saved an average of $2,813 per patient per year in healthcare costs. There are several factors that contribute to the cost savings achieved with RPM. First, RPM allows providers to proactively manage their patients’ health status, which leads to fewer complications and avoidable hospitalizations.
Second, RPM provides real-time data that can be used to make more informed decisions about a patient’s care. This data can help guide treatment decisions that may prevent costly interventions down the line. Finally, RPM frees up provider time by automating tasks like data collection and analysis.
This allows providers to focus on more important tasks, such as patient interaction and care coordination. In short, RPM is a powerful tool that can help both payers and providers reduce the cost of care while improving clinical outcomes.
5. Boosts net patient revenue
RPM boosts net patient revenue in several ways. First, it helps healthcare providers optimize their resources and reduce waste. Second, it enables them to bill for services that would otherwise not be reimbursable. Finally, it provides an opportunity to upsell other services that can improve the quality of care or the patient experience.
6. Improves access to care
For clinicians, RPM can improve access to care by providing them with data about more patients than they could see in person. This is especially beneficial for those who work in underserved areas or who have large caseloads. RPM can also help reduce costs by reducing the need for travel and office visits, and by allowing clinicians to see more patients in a shorter period of time. Lastly, RPM helps physicians to access patients through a wider geographical reach, allowing hospitals and the healthcare system in general, to reach more patients and increase revenues while at the same time increasing maximum bed capacity.
7. Builds patient engagement
RPM builds patient engagement by providing patients with data that they can use to make informed decisions about their care. RPM also gives patients access to their own health data, which they can use to track their progress and see how their care is progressing. Additionally, RPM provides patients with a way to contact their care team when they have questions or need support.
8. Optimizes clinical staff efficiency and combats clinical staff shortages
RPM is a gamechanger for optimizing clinical staff efficiency and combating clinical staff shortages. Here’s how:
- Enables clinicians to remotely monitor patients in real-time, reducing the need for in-person visits and increases patient throughput.
- Provides actionable data that can be used to improve care plans and make more informed decisions about patient care.
- Proactively identifies and addresses potential problems before they become full-blown crises, saving lives, time, money, and resources.
- Frees up clinical staff time so they can focus on more complex cases and provides an extra layer of support during high-demand periods.
- Reduces the risk of exposure to communicable diseases, saving clinicians from having to take time off work due to illness.
- Can be implemented quickly and easily into any clinical workflow, making it a versatile solution for combatting clinical staffing shortages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, remote patient monitoring is changing the way that doctors and patients interact. And, it has many benefits from improving patient outcomes by helping to identify problems before they become serious to decreasing hospital readmissions and ER visits, reducing costs for both patients and the healthcare system. Lastly, it can improve communication between patients and their care team and increase patient engagement in their own health. As far as innovations go, this one is making a huge impact on healthcare, in general and its developments are exciting to see.