Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) platforms are increasingly being accepted as both healthcare providers and patients continue to discover their value. Many providers are now able to serve more patients, achieve better patient outcomes, lower the costs of care, and add new revenue streams with the adoption of Remote Patient Monitoring.
Similarly, many patients feel RPM services and devices provide them with increased access to care and give them a greater sense of reassurance and more control over the management of their chronic conditions. In this post, we take an in-depth look at some of the key benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring.
A comprehensive Remote Patient Monitoring platform helps improve the quality of care because the clinicians get near real-time access to targeted and accurate patient data. Health emergencies, hospitalizations, and risk of complications are reduced as any significant change in the patient’s vital signs is detected faster.
More accurate patient health patterns can be established because of access to large amounts of daily data, enabling the care team to take appropriate remedial actions, adjust the treatment plan and medications, or guide the patient to make the necessary changes to their diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits.
The ability to collect health data consistently and continuously allows the patient’s care team to gain important insights into how, why, or when certain changes in the patient’s health parameters are happening. The ability to monitor and track chronic conditions, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) whether the patient is at home, workplace, on vacation, or in transit helps in managing the patient’s health much more effectively with improved outcomes.
Well-built Remote Patient Monitoring platforms involve the use of patient-friendly devices that require no configuration or setup, and can work easily with cellular connectivity. Unlike complex medical technologies that may often intimidate patients, cellular RPM devices are highly user-friendly, comfortable, and engaging by design.
With the patient’s active involvement in the generation of their own medical data, they feel more like a partner in their own care management, rather than just a passive recipient of healthcare. This encourages them to adhere to the provider’s care instructions and meet the data sharing requirements as expected for their chronic condition.
The increased level of engagement and communication between the patient and the care team leads to a relationship of trust, enabling the patient to better understand the importance of complying with their care plan and successfully completing their treatment. Patients feel more accountable and make a greater effort to contribute to their own recovery.
Another key factor in successful patient compliance is the increased visibility that an RPM platform provides to the patient about changes occurring to their own health. For example, when a diabetic patient directly notices in their glucometer readings that eating sugary foods increases their blood glucose levels abnormally, they will have a higher motivation to improve behaviors and adhere to the care plan.
Many patients with one or more debilitating chronic conditions may find it too difficult to frequently make in-patient visits to their healthcare provider. There are also increased concerns about contracting an infection in the course of frequent physical hospital appointments. For these reasons, many patients feel more comfortable using Remote Patient Monitoring platforms to reduce their physical visits.
Many patients may have busy work schedules or household responsibilities, making it more difficult for them to take time off from work, plan childcare, and pay for transportation costs to make an in-person visit to their doctor. Some of them are functionally limited due to their chronic conditions, making it difficult or impossible to arrange transportation to an on-site doctor’s appointment. Therefore, they may prefer utilizing the convenience of an RPM device to transmit their health data automatically in near real-time to their medical provider rather than disrupting their busy schedule.
In addition to the physical convenience and comfort, Remote Patient Monitoring has more to offer to the patients in terms of a valuable assurance that there is a knowledgeable and dedicated care team continuously looking out for their health and well-being. For instance, for a patient recovering from a serious heart attack, having the knowledge that a professional healthcare team is monitoring their vitals can be a source of priceless reassurance.
RPM gives the Patients a Greater Sense of Control Over Their Health
Remote Patient Monitoring empowers the patients to participate in the management of their chronic conditions and achieve better control over their own health.
On the other hand, with Remote Patient Monitoring, the patient has access to every health data point about their own chronic condition. The RPM platforms bring a greater level of transparency and lower the chances of patients feeling helpless, unaware, or entirely dependent on the clinician’s advice for the sake of their own health and well-being.
Dedicated RPM care providers can also help patients achieve a greater sense of control over their own treatment by using the platform to educate them about how compliance, lifestyle, or behavior modifications can influence health outcomes. Patients can receive reminders, insights, and tips on diet, fitness, and stress management and stay more vigilant and committed to improving their health and wellness.
