Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a healthcare provider strategy that assists patients, physicians, caregivers, and the whole healthcare system by collecting patient data outside traditional healthcare delivery settings. There are several essential advantages to consider, including expanded access to virtual care, more patient-provider contact possibilities, enhanced patient engagement in self-management, as well as reduced COVID-19 spread and overall total cost of care, as noted below.
Remote patient monitoring has many advantages for patients, providers, payers, and healthcare organizations. Some of them are stated below:
Benefit #1: Improves data-driven clinical decision-making.
Remote patient monitoring assists clinicians by enhancing clinical insight into their patients’ states in between office visits and provides tools to influence proactive care delivery. RPM allows the physician to monitor how a patient’s symptoms vary over time, enabling the clinician to discover patterns and modify the patient’s treatment plan.
“Remote monitoring allows us to view the subtleties and changes occurring in the present with that patient and intervene.”
Benefit #2: Assists patients in improving self-management and adherence to treatment plans.
Remote patient monitoring benefits patients in a variety of patient populations, including those with post-surgical recovery, single or multiple chronic comorbidities, COVID-19 infection, maternal and child needs, malignant neoplasms, and others, by providing them with readily available, condition-specific, and simple-to-use tools to manage their condition.
Benefit #3: Lowering the cost of care for payers and providers.
Remote patient monitoring has been shown to have a substantial influence on minimizing possibly needless ED visits and unnecessary hospital admissions and readmissions. It allows for ED diversion and faster acute release, resulting in shorter periods of stay and reduced healthcare costs. RPM allows appropriate levels of acute treatment and chronic care monitoring to be moved into the home, lowering the high costs of inpatient services.
Benefit #4: Increases net patient revenue.
The cost of caring for a patient is almost always cheaper than the expense of brick and mortar. When an organization implements RPM, net patient revenue may rise due to better process efficiency, increased employee productivity, and lower administrative expenses. RPM also allows for compensation and a competitive edge.
Benefit #5: Lowers patient expenditures and increases job productivity.
When a patient receives treatment through RPM, they can avoid the related expenses of an in-person visit. Patients avoid the hassles and costs of travel, parking, childcare, and taking time off from work.
Benefit #6: Improves access to care.
Remote patient monitoring removes the barrier to care by delivering care to patients wherever and whenever they need it. It may be used to reach out to patients in remote locations and link them to experts they would not otherwise be able to see. It’s also an excellent strategy to cut down on missed appointments.
Benefit #7: Increases patient involvement.
Remote patient monitoring is an excellent patient engagement technique because it gives patients tools to help them understand their health. When patients know their disease, treatment plan, and their role in improving their health, they are more likely to have favorable health outcomes. Convenient access to health education resources enhances their involvement even more.
Benefit #8: Improves healthcare staff efficiency while combating clinical staff shortages.
Remote patient monitoring helps doctors prioritize care delivery by allowing them to triage each patient and case based on near-real-time patient status. Many RPM solutions can link with the provider’s EMR, decreasing the need for duplicate paperwork.
In the face of acute staffing shortages, RPM may assist in alleviating the stress of over-scheduled in-person visits by enabling physicians to offer part of that treatment electronically. It employs a team-based care strategy that enables providers to be flexible.
“The HRS technologies enabled nurses to be considerably more efficient and strategic regarding which patients we targeted first in the day and how to keep patients safe and comfortable at home.”
Benefit #9:Â Prevents the spread of infectious illnesses and hospital-acquired infections.
Another benefit of RPM is that it helps to avoid infectious illnesses. RPM eliminates the need for patients to attend a hospital or clinic where they may get infected. Avoiding in-person visits reduces the danger of needless exposure, which is especially important for the elderly and people who are chronically unwell, pregnant, or otherwise immunocompromised.
Benefit #10: Improves caregiver connectedness and participation in care.
Remote patient monitoring assists not only patients but also their caregivers. Many RPM technologies now include the patient’s caregiver in the care plan by giving them access to vital sign records and progress. RPM allows caregivers to participate in and affect their loved one’s care and results. It adds another layer of external assistance to the caregiver in the event of a query or an emergency.
Benefit #11: Improves patient experience and satisfaction.
RPM meets patients where they are and where they want to go. It alleviates the stress of a hospital visit or stay by enabling patients to obtain effective and safe treatment from the convenience of their own homes.
Benefit #12: Increases referral chances and retention.
Offering remote patient monitoring programs to referring hospitals and specialists can enhance referrals and income. Through technology, access to innovative treatment creates a competitive edge, attracts new patients, and enhances current patient retention. Consumer-driven care suggests that people value convenience and will remain loyal to the provider that provides that service.
Benefit #13: Improves the clinician-patient connection.
Remote patient monitoring serves both physicians and patients by increasing communication possibilities, strengthening the patient-provider connection, and improving patient satisfaction and loyalty. It gives patients the reassuring impression that their clinician always keeps an eye on them.
There are several benefits to remote patient monitoring. RPM is a clear and consistent gain for patients, caregivers, providers, and payers throughout the sector.Â
