Given the huge challenges associated with addressing the global health crisis, it is not surprising that the way health care is provided to the United States in 2020 has brought new progress. One of the more important developments involves remote patient monitoring. Remote patient monitoring has existed technically since the early 1970s, but it was thrown into the spotlight during the pandemic and is being rapidly adopted.
In short, remote patient monitoring is a way for practitioners to closely monitor the chronic health status of patients, without the need for patients to visit the clinic in person. In order to provide remote patient monitoring, practitioners select one or more devices, and their patients can use these devices outside the office to collect health data, and then safely transmit these data back to the clinic for evaluation.
There are many different RPM devices on the market, each with its own purpose to track the symptoms of specific chronic diseases. For example, FDA approved wireless blood pressure cuff TeleRPM BPM Gen 2 measures systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate, and then quickly transmits accurate real-time data to the medical care platform through encrypted 4G wireless technology. Other available devices include scales that track water retention in patients with heart disease, and spirometers that measure lung function in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is important to teach patients how to use their specific devices, collect and store the data in a user-friendly application, and then transmit it to the clinic via secure Bluetooth or cellular connection.
1) Better access to the medical team: Because the remote patient monitoring device reports real-time health data, practitioners can always understand the current health status of patients, so that patients and nursing staff are more reassured.
2) Fewer visits to hospitals: This means that patients have fewer opportunities to contact other diseases and spend less time and money on visits.
3) Improve the quality of care: With the help of remote patient monitoring, practitioners can more fully understand the health status of patients, so that they can more accurately adjust drugs, reduce the number of emergency room visits, and extend the office visit time.
4) More control over personal health: Remote patient monitoring usually comes with a user-friendly mobile phone or tablet application that can provide patients with instant analysis of their health. This allows for minor adjustments to their daily lives to strengthen disease management and help patients better identify abnormal changes and developments.
5) Better support and education: Since the healthcare team will receive more detailed information about the patient's health, practitioners can provide better personal support and education.
