The Need for Remote Patient Monitoring in Today’s World
Consider it a Winning Bet.
According to the WHO, as of May 2022, the Covid-19 virus infected more than 520 million people, leading to 6.2 million deaths worldwide. On average, 5–30% of Covid-infected patients require hospitalization in the United States, but worldwide, healthcare systems felt the tremendous overload from the pandemic.
Overburdened healthcare systems, staffing issues, rising demands for care, and increased cases and hospitalizations have all contributed to pushing telehealth to the national limelight. In mere months, telehealth rapidly evolved from nice-to-have into a necessity for providing care to patients across the U.S.
However, virtual visits do not provide an opportunity to perform the physical examinations and monitoring that are often essential for diagnosis and treatment. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) can fill this care gap, allowing physicians to collect important information as they normally would during in-person examinations.
As a result, RPM has seen particularly big gains in the past two years. It has been implemented in many centers to alleviate the healthcare system overload, avoid hospital admissions, and/or facilitate discharge in patients with Covid-19 or suspected Covid-19 infection.
What is Remote Patient Monitoring?
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a method of healthcare delivery that utilizes the latest advances in information technology to passively gather patient data outside of a traditional healthcare setting. When RPM devices electronically transmit the data to healthcare providers, it gives providers the ability to analyze and track real-time changes in a patient’s health.
To enable clinicians to monitor patients remotely, RPM utilizes at-home measurement devices, wearable sensors, symptom trackers, and patient portals. This real-time understanding of a patient’s health state allows providers to make quick, proactive clinical decisions that improve health outcomes and thus provide better care.
With RPM, physicians can discharge patients earlier because follow-up care is conducted virtually. This way, patients can avoid staying in the high-cost hospital setting and instead safely recover in the comfort of their own homes. Not only are patients happier — which improves patient experience and thus their recovery process — but they also face lower hospital bill costs. And if the condition of a patient deteriorates, RPM devices alert clinicians immediately to take appropriate action.
Research Evidence Rules In Favor
In the context of the pandemic, RPM has reduced the time patients must spend in overcrowded, high-risk health care facilities where the Covid-19 virus can be transmitted, therefore reducing the spread. Moreover, several recent studies demonstrated RPM’s effectiveness in preventing hospital readmissions and improving patients’ recovery from the virus.
For example, a recent Mayo Clinic study with data from more than 7,000 patients across 41 states reported that its RPM program with nursing support was safe, effective, and led to positive outcomes, including:
- High patient-engagement levels.
- Low hospitalization rates.
- Low 30-day mortality rates.
A similar Kaiser Permanente study published in July 2021 found that employing RPM to treat Covid-19 patients proved effective in preventing readmissions and improving recovery from the virus. The study also found high satisfaction among participants. More than 94% of the responding patients said they were satisfied with the quality of care and would recommend the program to others.
Chronic Conditions and Wearables
With over half of adults in the U.S. having a chronic disease (heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, etc.), RPM is increasingly becoming the likely answer to managing both population health and rising healthcare costs.
For chronic diseases, the U.S. saw a worsening of conditions after the pandemic began. This has led to what providers are now calling “health debt,” a term referring to the accumulated impact of changes in health behaviors due to the pandemic.
According to a national survey released by SCAI in January 2021, early 40 percent of Americans still do not feel safe going to the doctor’s office while Covid-19 is still a risk. While chronic disease patients are trying to be safe, they also need to maintain contact with providers to stay on track.
There are long-term consequences to delaying care for people with a chronic disease, and RPM can help mitigate this impact. With RPM, providers can watch blood glucose levels, blood oxygen levels, and other vital signs live without the need for patients to come into the care setting as often — thereby easing the burden on the system while also reducing patient risk.
As far as success with these RPM programs, studies have shown high satisfaction rates for providers and patients alike. Ultimately, this leads to better data collection — which when combined with AI leveraging analytics — will increase predictive capabilities and allow for more timely intervention and management of concerns. Think of it as a positive feedback loop.
RPM is a proven and effective healthcare delivery mechanism, but successful RPM relies on efficient data collection, which is why wearables and other consumer devices will be vital to caring for patients at home in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Using patented gesture detection technology on wrist-based wearables, Somatix’s AI-powered Remote Patient Monitoring platform enables providers to make more informed decisions about a patient’s care plan or treatment based on continuous patient data. With real-time alerting, predictive clinical insights, telehealth, integrations with 3rd party devices, and other functions, Somatix’s Smartband paves the way for physicians and patients who are trying to manage chronic diseases.
