The introduction of advance digital technologies has revolutionized the healthcare industry. Since the beginning of this decade, healthcare providers across the globe have started leveraging these technologies to provide better services to a larger patient group. But with the current pandemic, conversations about leveraging virtual/digital channels to provide healthcare services has come to the spotlight.
One of the most talked-about facets of virtual healthcare off-late has been ‘remote patient monitoring.’ As hospitals are trying to reduce the footfall of non-critical cases in the hospital during the current pandemic – without compromising on the care provided to these patients – remote patient monitoring tools have emerged as an instrumental technology.
What is a Remote Patient Monitoring tool?
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) tools use digital technologies to collect patients’ healthcare-related data and electronically share it with healthcare providers virtually. The tool is generally a wearable device that can collect a patient’s vital healthcare statistics (or even more) continuously and share it with healthcare providers for consultation, preventive measures, and, to some extent, immediate intervention in case of an emergency. With the emergence of advanced cloud-sharing platforms, the RPM feature can now be enabled on several devices.
Patient Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring Tools
There are significant advantages of implementing remote patient monitoring for both patients as well as healthcare providers. Some of the key benefits are:
1. Better and Continuous Access to Healthcare Providers
By enabling patients to connect to their healthcare providers digitally, RPM tools ensure better and continuous access to care. For example, a patient staying in a remote location with limited regional healthcare facilities does not have to travel to a hospital for routine checkups. As the RPM tools can be programmed to evaluate critical parameters of patient’s health continuously, a periodic visit to the hospital only for routine checkups might not be required anymore. Leveraging an RPM tool allows patients to get the care they need from the comfort of their own home.
2. Less Emergency Room Admissions
As RPM tools continuously monitor a patient’s health, early detection of a healthcare condition is possible. This allows doctors to work better with patients on preventive techniques and address issues before they become critical. As a result, potential Emergency Room (ER) visits for such patients reduce dramatically.
3. Enhanced Autonomy for Patients
RPM tools help patients take greater control over their health. They not only enforce patients to be vigilant about their health but can also be programmed to make patients remain compliant with their prescriptions.
The Future of RPM Tools
The current trend is to make RPM tools smaller and less invasive. The concept of IoT has proven to be a boon for these devices. With IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data analytics will soon shift the center of care from the hospital to the patient’s home. According to a report by Frost and Sullivan, RPM tools will become a mainstream medical device by 2023 – with its market almost growing to $1.15 billion.
Synoptek has developed an RPM tool for a Boston-based nonprofit integrated healthcare service provider, which has been able to help the healthcare provider ensure better patient care through constant monitoring and enhance its capacity to treat more patients. Learn more about how we did it!
Contact Synoptek to learn how we can support your healthcare business.
