Remote patient monitoring is defined as “regular, asynchronous or continuous monitoring and transmission of vital signs, including weight, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, glucose level, heart rate or heart rhythm”. Remote patient monitoring belongs to the category of telemedicine. It refers to collecting medical data and health information from individuals in the specific location and transmitting them electronically to providers in different locations. Simply put, remote patient monitoring includes collecting patient health data outside the physical hospital or clinic environment. It allows care to be moved from the hospital to the home environment. Remote patient monitoring is asynchronous, which means that patient information is forwarded (sent) and then stored until the provider has the opportunity to view it.
Remote patient monitoring offers many benefits. It provides clinicians with a more accurate patient health condition, so that clinicians can see the trend of symptoms over time. When clinicians have a stronger data set, they can provide care more actively and effectively. Remote patient monitoring can help providers assess whether the patient's condition is stable, deteriorating, or improving.
Through remote patient monitoring, providers can immediately access patient data at the moment the patient is experiencing pain, confusion, or deterioration of symptoms. When providers can view the whole process of the patient's condition, they have the right to provide more data-based active care, which in turn will improve the patient's health and provide nursing services more effectively. At present, in the case of nursing shortage, remote patient monitoring can reduce the burden of clinicians by enabling them to monitor patients remotely.
RPM devices enables patients to conveniently and comfortably share their vital signs updates at home, helping providers to understand the progress of patients' conditions in real time. Patients have the right to control and manage their own health, so as to improve patient participation and health condition, and ultimately improve overall health outcomes and life quality.
Nowadays, remote patient monitoring is used in various patient groups and nursing environments, as well as many diseases, including COPD, CHF, diabetes, hypertension, primary health care, post surgery, tumor care, postpartum and prenatal care, pediatrics, chronic kidney disease, hospice care and palliative treatment. Remote patient monitoring is one of the most effective methods to manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension, as it supports data-driven active care delivery.
