Making a Case for Remote Patient Monitoring

Extensive Benefits

By implementing Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), patients can effectively manage their chronic conditions and reduce the need for costly emergency room visits or hospitalizations. Regular monitoring of their health status can lead to better care regimens and improved outcomes. The choices patients make regarding their medications, weight management, diabetes, blood sugar levels, and hypertension can all be tracked through RPM, allowing healthcare providers to make faster decisions to improve their patients' overall health.

RPM also provides patients with more education about their condition and treatment options, as well as quicker feedback than traditional appointments. Accountability is increased as patients know they are being monitored, leading to more accurate data and the ability to identify potential issues, such as spikes in blood sugar or blood pressure.

Continuity of care is also a benefit of RPM, with better and faster follow-ups over time and personalized care from the comfort of home. The focus on preventative care and patient-centered approach supports value-based care, leading to increased patient satisfaction and loyalty to their healthcare provider. The convenience of remote monitoring appointments may also lead to an increase in consistent patients.

To say the ongoing pandemic has disrupted the industry would be an understatement. From the delivery of food to the delivery of healthcare, our world has transformed and companies have pivoted into a functional, remote world. While some of these pivots have simply allowed industries to continue, other transformations have actively improved their fields.

While the end of distancing will surely be marked with a return to normalcy for some of these industries, the clear benefits of remote patient monitoring technology within the medical community are making remote patient care services the new normal of healthcare delivery; one that is here to stay.

Quality Remote Care

Having access to healthcare professionals from the comfort of our own homes is now an active reality. It is also a greatly effective means of ensuring disruption-free doctor-to-patient communication outside of traditional appointment settings, which improves both quality of care and safety for patients. This form of telemedicine allows for ongoing communication and provides patients with important, immediate feedback from their healthcare providers that ensures they are keeping up with their care plans and needs. Live interaction allows for increased availability in regards to scheduling health appointments, by removing the barriers created by physical consultations.

How Does It Work?

RPM is a development within the field of telemedicine that holds enormous potential and evidence-based improvements in the quality of care. Remote Patient Monitoring eliminates and automates at-home health readings in ways that allow healthcare providers to actively avoid emergencies by recognizing issues before they occur. Instead of simply discharging patients with education about self-monitoring of their vital signs, RPM allows patients to easily enter readings from home and transmits these readings to healthcare professionals who are qualified to assess them. These professionals can then send health alerts to patients and caregivers when readings show irregularities, stopping health issues before they reach critical levels. This capacity of preventative medical intervention keeps emergencies out of the ER and increases accessibility for both patients and medical professionals.

Remote Patient Monitoring is unsuccessful without the tools to make it possible. As opposed to telehealth, which can be done over a personal device such as a computer or smartphone, remote patient monitoring requires a couple of extra steps. This includes an RPM device. 

There are many different devices used for remote patient monitoring including (but not limited to): 

• Blood Pressure Monitors

• Glucose Meters

• Weight Scales

• Spirometers 

• Resting Pulse Monitor

• Sleep Monitor 

A Remote Patient Monitoring device is technically considered to be a wireless medical device, as per the FDA, and they have provided some helpful guidance on wireless medical devices as a whole and the FDA-recognized standards that are specifically related to wireless medical devices. You can find those standards by clicking here.

Data Gathering and Forwarding

This advancement in telemedicine provides increased levels of patient data gathering and assessment and a practical way for patients to send important information to healthcare providers. This can include pictures, videos, and results of diagnostic tests, all of which allow providers to better and more accurately guide their patients on steps to take in relation to their health. This information sharing allows for an immediate, personalized consultation, in addition to the ability to confirm results without abnormalities in routine examinations on healthy patients.

In all its forms, RPM technology gives doctors more accessibility to their patients, which results in improved care and control of their client’s health, no matter the distance. It provides patients with security and comfort and reduces risks of emergencies by eliminating the possibility of issues going overlooked. The biggest positive? This technology is not a futuristic dream, it is a contemporary reality. 

Reduced Risk with RPM

In all its forms, RPM technology gives doctors more accessibility to their patients, resulting in improved care and control of their client’s health, no matter the distance. It provides patients with security and comfort, reducing risks of emergencies by eliminating the possibility of issues going overlooked. One of the biggest advantages of RPM technology is its ability to improve patient outcomes. Studies have shown that RPM technology can reduce hospitalizations by up to 70%, reduce healthcare costs by up to 30%, and improve patient satisfaction by up to 85%.

Moreover, RPM technology is cost-effective and convenient for both patients and healthcare providers. Many providers like Accuhealth have designed their services and platform in ways that not only allow for growth, but actually encourage it. Patients can avoid long wait times and travel expenses, while healthcare providers can see more patients in a shorter amount of time, resulting in increased revenue.

Cyber Security & Data Protection

In today's world of cybercrime and security, protecting data flow is crucial, especially in the healthcare field where a patient's data can be a prime target for criminals. The RPM ecosystem has become a target for cybercriminals searching for their next victim. Healthcare professionals and patients are at risk of security breaches, and as remote patient monitoring becomes more commonplace, there may be a significant rise in such incidents. While many platforms have some positive aspects in relation to cybersecurity, the new frontier of telehealth may prove to be the weakest link.

Despite established protocols and procedures on the healthcare facility's side of the server, the patient's home may prove less secure when it comes to data transmission. This creates a potential weakness in the overall cyber defenses of RPM that criminals may seek to exploit. It is crucial to introduce new controls and implement appropriate safeguards to protect patient and provider data. RPM technology has introduced unknown risks to security and potentially left open new doors for cybercriminals to exploit.

It is essential to remotely access all information needed for telehealth and RPM services through safe and secure channels and to follow cybersecurity measures to protect personal information and comply with FDA regulations and HIPAA, compliance. Breaches can occur in many ways, such as phishing scams, unsecured remote desktop connections, ransomware, unpatched servers, and third-party providers.

Choosing the best remote desktop solution, such as desktop solutions like tablets, PCs, X-ray machines, digital diagnostic testing equipment, and local servers, can offer numerous benefits. Streamlining and simplifying the IT department and giving them more control with centrally managed remote access can ensure each solution is unique and has a fully managed firewall to provide access rights to the appropriate people. It also allows the IT department to approach RPM security using a multilayered approach, using secure lines, managing user access and rights, and documenting all activity.

All RPM solutions must be fully compliant with HIPAA, and other legislation related to the healthcare field. Remote access should offer secure and configurable solutions that are HIPAA-compliant and use encryption laid out by NIST. Protecting patient data is as crucial as monitoring their health from a distance. With tighter cybersecurity protections, patients can have extra peace of mind in their care.

Accuhealth has a proprietary HIPAA,-compliant SOC2-certified platform called Evelyn. Evelyn is a web-based solution in which providers and their clinical team members can log in to see all their patients’ RPM, data, monitor compliance, see and add clinical notes, review billing data, and more.

Accuhealth was founded by cybersecurity professionals who recognized that the future of healthcare would involve remote patient monitoring. They knew that most companies were building RPM systems that were too difficult for physicians and patients. With their technical and cybersecurity expertise, they built a solution that was easier and more effective than what most of the industry was doing. 

Moving Forward

RPM technology has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. It provides patients with better access to healthcare professionals, ensures better monitoring of chronic conditions, and reduces the risk of emergency situations. Healthcare providers can see more patients in a shorter amount of time, resulting in increased revenue, while reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes. As the world continues to navigate the ongoing pandemic, the benefits of RPM, technology have made it a crucial component of the new normal of healthcare delivery.

To find out more about the tremendous benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring, or to sign up for a demo today, visit accuhealth.tech.

If reading this has just left you even more confused. We recommend taking a step back and starting from the beginning.

1. How to Set Up Your Remote Patient Monitoring System
2. The Complete Guide to Remote Patient Monitoring

If you are curious about CMS changes that may affect your practice, check this out.