We have to agree that the introduction of telehealth services with healthcare technology has improved healthcare and access for many. A study suggests that around 80% of the people in the US have already experienced telehealth services at least once in their lifetime.
Rather than only being beneficial for patients, telehealth has proven to be a game changer for healthcare providers as well. For instance, almost 83% of the time, physicians can resolve patient issues during the initial telehealth visits.
Despite the attraction telehealth has gotten with the rise of custom healthcare software development, the healthcare technology that is responsible for this is indeed lurking around in the shadows. Yes, we are talking about remote patient monitoring, which bridged the gap between telehealth and patients.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) enabled remote access to important aspects of healthcare delivery which included continuous monitoring of patient vitals, easy medication refills, etc. This helped the entire healthcare industry as a whole in cost reduction and enhanced the overall patient experience while receiving care.
Health monitoring devices combined with remote patient monitoring (RPM) along with telehealth are reshaping the future of healthcare. Innovations in healthcare technology being the roadmap to the future, here is a sneak peek into the future trends in telehealth that are shaping the future of healthcare delivery.
Improved Patient Outcomes Through RPM
One of the major benefits of remote patient monitoring has been the improved patient outcomes. By instilling data backed healthcare practices for care delivery and better chronic disease management. Let’s uncover how the current trends hold for the future of remote patient monitoring and how it helps in improving patient health outcomes.
- Early Detection of Health Issues
The first and foremost advantage of implementing remote patient monitoring in healthcare practices has been the continuous monitoring of vital signs of patients. Health monitoring devices have a huge part to play in this which enables providers and patients to keep a check on their health and intervene whenever required.
With continuous monitoring of patient health vitals, any trends in patient health can be easily identified. For instance, any health-related issues can be addressed beforehand, leading to proactive care practices and better delivery of preventive care. This is how RPM for chronic disease management leads to improved patient outcomes and early detection of health issues.
- Enhanced Chronic Disease Management
Almost 33% of the adult population in the United States are struggling with chronic conditions. Every patient dealing with chronic conditions needs personalized care, which becomes hard to provide due to less consultation time and a lack of accurate data. This is where RPM for chronic disease management comes into the picture.
The access of real-time data of patients with remote patient monitoring devices and telehealth healthcare technology, provides the healthcare provider with enough material to curate personalized care plans.
Taking this a step further with telehealth and patient outcomes improvement, providers can keep a tap on the medication adherence of the patient and develop strategies that could improve patient engagement, leading to holistic care with a patient-first approach.
- Better Management of Post-Discharge Care
Remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and patient outcomes are all interlinked and lead to better care practices; it comes in handy, especially for post-discharge care. But how to implement RPM in healthcare that leads to better management of post-discharge care? Well, these interesting stats might help you get an idea about it. The Geisinger Health Plan report suggests that patient readmission lowered by 44% during the first 30 days of patients using telehealth programs for post-discharge care.
Along with that, it also allows the patient to be at a place where they are comfortable. This leads to providing a holistic atmosphere to the patient for treatment which leads to faster recovery and improves patient satisfaction rate.
Cost Reduction with Remote Patient Monitoring
Another one of the distinctive benefits of remote patient monitoring has been the impact it has on cost reduction in healthcare expenses for both patient and provider. Let’s see how RPM can help in cost reduction:
- Lower Healthcare Expenses
Statistics show that remote patient monitoring leads to less hospitalization of patients along with less emergency visits. Here, the patient saves significantly on travel and the service fees for actually receiving healthcare. On the other hand, healthcare providers can efficiently use their resources with better management.
In this way, a significant cost of healthcare facilities can be saved with better resource management and human resource management. It not only allows better care practices but also effective use of resources.
- Increased Operational Efficiency
Remote patient monitoring combined with custom healthcare software development equips healthcare providers with enough tools to help streamline their workflow and the way data flows in their practice. It helps improve the accuracy and efficiency of healthcare practices, allowing healthcare providers to focus more on providing care services rather than on performing repetitive manual tasks or documentation tasks.
Apart from that, it is proven that telehealth and remote patient monitoring contributes significantly to reducing the need for in-person appointments. This is one of the major factors that helps both patients and healthcare facilities to save sufficiently on healthcare delivery.
Enhancing Patient Experience with RPM
Rather than traveling to the hospital and waiting in the waiting room for your consultation to come, remote patient monitoring can elevate the patient experience with comfort and convenience. Let’s explore how RPM and telehealth help in achieving this:
- Convenience and Accessibility
As the name suggests, remote patient monitoring allows patients to receive consultation from the comfort of their home. This not only helps in saving the additional money for receiving care but also is more convenient for the patient as they can consult with their care provider literally from anywhere and at any given time.
Along with that, the appointment scheduling feature that is present in custom healthcare software, allows patients to be flexible with their appointments. To add another layer of user friendliness to this, now patients can easily reschedule, cancel or postpone their appointments at their convenience.
- Increased Patient Engagement
Innovations in healthcare technology have always been about giving patients the control of their health. Further the features like telehealth, remote patient monitoring, access to educational material and effective two-way communication channels for coordinated care, allows patients to be in control of their healthcare journey, contributing to better health outcomes.
Overcoming Challenges and Ensuring Data Security
There are many challenges in remote patient monitoring and that is the reason why many providers often ask us the question, ‘How to implement RPM in healthcare?’. So, let’s see the aspect of data security in remote patient monitoring and how to overcome other such challenges in remote patient monitoring.
- Addressing Technology Barriers
One of the major challenges in remote patient monitoring is ensuring reliable connectivity and device usability. Most people in rural or underserved areas do not have a stable connection that can help them harness the full potential of telehealth services and even remote patient monitoring.
Apart from that, there are some people who are not technology friendly where device usability can be a potential challenge. To overcome all such challenges, providing technical support to patients regarding the usability of the devices is a must.
- Protecting Patient Privacy and Data Security
Since both telehealth healthcare technology and remote patient monitoring deal with crucial and personal data of patients, it is important to implement robust cybersecurity measures that help keep the patient data safe and secure. Being one of the highly prone industries to cyberthreats, data security in remote patient monitoring becomes essential to not only safeguard the fundamental rights of patients but also help your practice in performing better healthcare practices with accuracy and navigating safely through the regulatory landscape of the ever-evolving healthcare technology.
Some of the data protection regulatory bodies that you should adhere to are HIPAA, HITECH Act, GDPR, etc.
The Future of RPM: Integration and Innovation
Looking at the upward trajectory of the popularity of RPM devices and remote patient monitoring platforms, the future of remote patient monitoring seems bright. There are several factors contributing to the bright future of remote patient monitoring. Let’s have a look at some of the major factors that are shaping the future of remote patient monitoring.
- Integration with Wearable Technology
Since wearable remote patient monitoring devices are gaining attraction with the rise in healthcare technology, its integration of remote patient monitoring solutions can expand data collection capabilities of the healthcare practice. This will lead to collection of more healthcare data which can be used for enhancement of the remote patient monitoring solutions making it more reliable and accurate.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
The future of remote patient monitoring just like the future of every industry is bound to get a touch of excellence from Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms. Implementation of such advanced technology can improve the predictive healthcare practice with accuracy and backed by data. This can lead to timely or early intervention to prevent deterioration of health of patients and improvement in patient health outcomes.
Along with that, it can also help in curating personalized treatment plans based on the data patterns collected from the remote patient monitoring devices. It will not only help care providers to take up holistic care with a patient-first approach.
Conclusion
The benefits of remote patient monitoring with telehealth are shaping the future of the healthcare industry. From enabling remote monitoring of patient conditions to better chronic disease management, these healthcare technologies have the potential to change the entire outlook on healthcare delivery.
In a nutshell, remote patient monitoring along with telehealth and patient outcomes based care practices, can not only instill value-based care practices but also help in the transformation of the healthcare practices from reactive to proactive.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)?
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) uses technology to track a patient’s health data from their home. This data can include blood pressure, weight, blood sugar, and oxygen levels. RPM allows healthcare providers to monitor patients remotely, identify health concerns early, and intervene when needed.
- How does RPM work?
RPM uses devices to collect patient health data (vitals, blood sugar etc.) at home.
This data is transmitted securely to healthcare providers who can monitor trends and intervene if needed.
RPM empowers patients and improves care coordination.
- How does RPM benefit patients?
RPM offers several advantages:
- Closer monitoring: Track vitals and health data from home, giving your doctor a clearer picture.
- Early detection: Catch health issues sooner with continuous monitoring, allowing for quicker intervention.
- Improved self-management: Take a more active role in your health with tools and data insights.
- Fewer trips: Reduce unnecessary in-person visits by remotely sharing health information.
- Potential cost savings: Lower healthcare costs by preventing avoidable hospital stays.
- What are the challenges of implementing RPM?
Implementing RPM has hurdles. These include:
- Technology access: Not everyone has reliable internet or devices for RPM.
- Patient engagement: Encouraging consistent use of RPM tools requires effort.
- Data privacy and security: Protecting sensitive health data collected through RPM is crucial.
- Reimbursement: Insurance coverage for RPM services can be complex.
- What future technologies will impact RPM?
Future technologies like AI-powered analytics will analyze RPM data to predict health risks and recommend interventions. Wearable sensors will collect more real-time patient data for better monitoring. Advanced communication tools will improve remote consultations with doctors.
- How can healthcare providers overcome RPM implementation challenges?
Offer clear benefits education, ensure user-friendly technology, and personalize communication to boost motivation.
- Is RPM safe and secure?
Yes, RPM can be safe and secure when used with reputable healthcare providers that follow HIPAA regulations. Data encryption and secure transmission protocols are used to protect patient privacy. However, it’s important to choose trustworthy RPM systems and understand how your data is handled.
- What are the costs associated with RPM?
RPM involves several cost factors:
- Device fees: for equipment like blood pressure cuffs or weight scales.
- Service fees: for data transmission, storage, and analytics.
- Telehealth visits: for remote consultations with healthcare providers.