What is Remote Patient Monitoring?
Remote patient monitoring, in short, RPM is a method of healthcare application that uses the latest advances in information technology to collect patient data outside of the traditional doctor’s office. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) uses digital technologies to gather health data from patients in one location and electronically transmit that information securely to health care providers in a different location for assessment and recommendations.
Using remote patient monitoring brings health care to the peoples’ houses or wherever they live, work, and play. Remote patient monitoring and chronic care management help the use of technologies to build the bridge between doctor visits. By using remote patient monitoring doctors and patients can reduce the number of in-person doctor visits.
Moreover, doctors and nurses can monitor and intervene for patients’ health in a proactive manner. As a result, the number of hospitalizations, urgent care, and ER visits significantly goes down. In addition, RPM and CCM can drastically improve a patient’s quality of life simply by reducing the burden on the patients.
RPM and CCM help patients keep their independence.it also helps to prevent diabetes or other chronic disease-related complications. In addition, remote patient monitoring can also reduce a patient’s out-of-pocket costs.
How do remote patient monitoring and chronic care management work?
RPM and CCM she is these goals via telecommunication technology. This form of patient monitoring can be particularly important when patients are managing complex disease states such as diabetes. By using RPM especially patients with diabetes can achieve their blood sugar goals a lot faster and easier.
What are the technologies involved in RPM and CCM?
Remote monitoring can occur via continuous glucose monitoring systems such as Dexcom G6 and freestyle libre as well as bluetooth or cellular technology. SugarMDs have a platform that can include all systems in one place. Doctors and nurses can monitor patients remotely and act instantly when physiologic data that is received from a patient’s device is out of range.
In this platform, patients can use their own meter or our Bluetooth or cellular meter which transfers data automatically to us immediately after a blood sugar check. When patients use our special meter that has Bluetooth technology they need a smartphone application.
Some patients do not want to use smartphones or are not familiar with them. For those patients, cellular meter technology is the best solution. That way patients do not have to keep blogs and they do not have to use any technological device.
What is the difference between telehealth and remote patient monitoring?
Both telehealth and remote patient monitoring may sound similar. Some people use them interchangeably. On the other hand, they are definitely not the same thing. Telehealth encompasses all the technologies that we use to collect information from the patient as well as communicate back with the patient that results in a treatment decision. Remote monitoring is part of telehealth services.
On the other hand, telehealth services can still be delivered without remote patient monitoring. For example, video visits or tele-visits are examples of telehealth. Telehealth can be used to define any service that is not given in person and yet it is between the provider and the patient.
Remote patient monitoring definitely adds a lot of the value to do telehealth. For example, the patient with diabetes can see the doctor via a tele-visit and talk about his or her blood sugars. And yet information that the doctor obtains from the patient is very limited due to lack of data.
By using remote patient monitoring physicians will have a lot more information to make healthier decisions for the diabetic patient. Not only that but also, remote patient monitoring will allow the physician to monitor and make treatment adjustments if necessary based on remote patient monitoring data.
As a result, chronic care management using patient monitoring becomes much more efficient and cost-effective. It is not uncommon for a doctor to prescribe a medication for a diabetic patient who ends up in the ER due to the side effect of that particular medication or medication not being as effective as physician thought.
Whereas the physician could have identified the problem long before the patient reported to the ER e.g because of very high blood sugar due to the ineffectiveness of the medication or due to a severe side effect from the medication.
How does remote patient monitoring help patients?
The most important aspect of remote monitoring and chronic care management for patients is accountability. Patients feel more accountable and they feel more supported by their clinical team. They do not feel isolated or alone when they know a team member is closely watching them and reporting to the doctor when patients’ physiological parameters are not within the target range.
How do RPM and CCM work?
At SugarMDs we do remote patient monitoring in the following sequence:
- Collecting data: We collect blood sugar and blood pressure data via continuous glucose monitoring devices or Bluetooth or cellular meters that require minimal to no I performed the patient.
- Transmission of data: Secure data transfer and correspondence occur via secure internet, phone, text, or other forms of communication.
- Processing of data: Our team examine the data and point out any areas of concern. The patient and the patient’s healthcare team receive a report for out of range data and how this data was managed.
- Notification: Primary care doctors are able to see the team’s remote monitoring via a secure portal or the app. They also see correspondence and reports created by the medical team. If there is an interruption in the communication or data collection, we try to reach to the patient first. If we cannot reach out to the patient via alert the emergency medical responders.
What is the difference between RPM and CCM that SugarMDs offer versus the others?
At SugarMDs remote patient monitoring is carried out under an endocrinologist leadership. The staff is much better trained and qualified to help patients avoid worsening of their condition. Our goal is to give reasonable, solid, and scientific advice to patients correctly and timely as well as notifying the primary treating physician. Just monitoring without appropriate intervention is not what SugarMDs offer.
AHMET ERGIN, MD, FACE, CDCES, ECNU ENDOCRINOLOGIST SugarMDs, LLC 2260 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. Ste 212 Unit #7 West Palm Beach Florida