Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a revolutionary way to help patients receive the best possible care. RPM reduces ER visits by 35%, reduces wait times for new patients by 83%, and is completely Medicare reimbursed. RPM lowers medical costs for the patients while allowing for the healthcare professional to have the most information as possible.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare expanded coverage of RPM services to include chronic and/or acute conditions that telehealth can support. Many patients now qualify for RPM, especially patients in nursing homes and patients who live in rural areas. However, RPM can be available to any patient. A recent survey shows that over 23 million U.S. patients have used RPM services and/or tools in some capacity. While another survey showed that 8 in 10 doctors are already using a form of RPM with their patients. 9 out of 10 healthcare providers indicated that they had/were interested in remote patient monitoring technologies .
Our Remote Patient Monitoring Technology specializes in equipment for monitoring diabetes, weight management, blood pressure, and oxygen. RPM, also referred to as remote physiologic monitoring, allows the patient to live their regular life. Rather than only recording data in a controlled environment, the RPM equipment can record during the patient’s daily life. More than simply managing the symptoms, RPM helps the patient target their illness. RPM is a great opportunity for doctors to monitor patients who battle chronic illnesses or might need post-operative monitoring. Remote Patient Monitoring is an efficient, effective, and easy way for doctors to monitor their patient’s health conditions without the patient physically visiting an office.
Remote Patient Monitoring for Diabetes
In the United States alone, there are more than 34 million people living with diabetes while another 88 million are prediabetic. Not only does this risk the life of the individual, diabetes is costing Americans more than $325 billion in medical bills and lost productivity. For someone with diabetes, consistently monitoring blood glucose levels is critical to their health and wellbeing. Diabetic patients need to be aware of their health and pay particular focus to their blood sugar. Monitoring blood glucose levels for a diabetic patient is one of the best RPM applications for the patient and doctor.
Many diabitic patients do not feel diabetic symptoms until they are hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) or hypoglycemic (blood sugar too low). RPM technology can be the difference between life or death for a diabetic patient. Untreated hyperglycemia can send the patient into ketoacidosis (diabetic coma) and potentially cause complications affecting eye, kidneys, nerves, and heart. Untreated hypoglycemia can lead to blurred vision, confusion, slurred speech and drowsiness but will eventually lead to seizures, coma, and sometimes death. Remote Patient Monitoring allows for early preventative healthcare rather than just managing symptoms once the symptoms escalate.
RPM for Weight Management
In the United States, it is projected that over 42% of Americans are obese. Obesity can lead to serious health complications like heart failure or diabetes. Prevention and lifestyle changes is the long-term solution for weight management. However, certain health conditions can make losing weight difficult as well. By using Remote Patient Monitoring for weight management, patients and healthcare professionals are able to be well-informed about day-to-day life. This also helps them both gain insight into weight patterns. By having daily information, the practitioner can better customize a weight management plan for the patient.
RPM technology for weight management is often a cellular scale, which the data is then transmitted to their healthcare practitioner. How is this different from the patient taking their weight every day? By using RPM for weight management, 84% of patients experienced feeling like they had greater control over their health. The survey participants agreed the feedback from the healthcare providers resulted in a better understanding of their health, with 70% of the patients showing improved health outcomes.
Remote Patient Monitoring for Blood Pressure
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a leading public health concern. In 2018 alone, almost 500K deaths in the United States included hypertension as either a primary or contributing cause. High blood pressure can cause heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease, vision loss, sexual dysfunction, angina, among other diseases.
One of the most common barriers to adequate blood pressure management is poor or inconsistent blood-pressure monitoring techniques. Remote Patient Monitoring directly helps the patient and healthcare provider get accurate measurements. RPM allows for more frequent blood pressure monitoring over extended periods so the doctor and patient can have a more accurate assessment of a patient’s blood pressure, lowering the risk of dangerous cardiovascular events. By having more data over an extended period of time, the practitioner can better prescribe medications.
RPM for Oxygen
The average blood oxygen level is between 95%-100%. Individuals who suffer from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) along with other lung diseases may have less than normal oxygen oxygen saturation level may be lower. The current projected cost to United States workers of chronic lung issues is around $50 annually, causing workers to collectively miss more than 16 million days of work per year. Some common causes of low oxygen levels are heart conditions, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, sleep apnea, and other issues. Symptoms of low blood oxygen levels (hypoxemia) can include headache, shortness of breath, coughing, high heart rate, confusion, a blueish or cherry red tint to the skin and fingernails.
Remote Patient Monitoring can consistently monitor your blood oxygen levels, which gives the power of knowledge to the patient and their healthcare provider. By monitoring your oxygen levels consistently, your doctor can better prescribe your medication and better monitor oxygen emergencies. By using RPM to monitor oxygen levels, this decreases visits to the doctor for an oxygen blood level check, which makes things safer for at-risk patients.
