Chronic conditions and aging patients need constant check-ups to assess their current health status. But, that puts a huge burden on these patients as well as the health sector. Let’s face it, spending a day at the doctor’s office is not most people’s idea of a good day. That’s where RPM comes in. This new technology helps aging patients and those with chronic conditions receive the monitoring they need from the comfort of their home and enables health care staff to monitor a larger number of patients at any time.
What is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)?
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) helps healthcare providers keep an eye on patients while they’re outside typical clinical settings. It uses typical clinical monitoring devices like blood pressure monitors and glucose meters and connects them to the internet or another protocol used for data transfer. This enables them to transmit data to RPM programs so clinical professionals can track the patient’s health from afar.
Three core components make up a RPM solution:
What is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)?
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) helps healthcare providers keep an eye on patients while they’re outside typical clinical settings. It uses typical clinical monitoring devices like blood pressure monitors and glucose meters and connects them to the internet or another protocol used for data transfer. This enables them to transmit data to RPM programs so clinical professionals can track the patient’s health from afar.
Three core components make up a RPM solution:
- Connected Devices: These are the devices used to collect health data about the patient.
- Data Transmission: Each connected device needs to use some form of data transmission protocol to send the information to the digital health platform.
- Digital Health Platforms: Software like DC2Vue takes the information from the connected devices and helps clinicians analyse the data.
Benefits of RPM for Treating Chronic Care and Aging Patients
Chronic conditions require constant monitoring to notice flairs or progressions in the condition immediately. That type of constant monitoring can help identify issues so the patient can receive intervention before the issue progresses further. But, most patients with chronic conditions can’t live their life in a clinical setting. RPM allows them to live their regular life while still being monitored by their doctors and healthcare providers to catch potential signs of deterioration. Similarly, aging patients tend to develop conditions quickly. Oftentimes, they can go unnoticed as elderly patients often dismiss signs of a serious illness as a symptom of getting old. This is becoming a large issue as the population of Australia is aging overall. With up-to-date health data on the patient, a doctor or healthcare provider can assess the situation and notify the aging patient when they need to come into the practice for further tests or arrange care providers to visit them.8 Steps to Implementing RPM
Given the range of technologies and participation amongst both patients and healthcare providers required for RPM, implementing it is no easy task. So, we broke the basic process for implementing RPM down to eight core steps based on the AMA’s recommendations except applied to Australia.Step #1: Identify Needs and Goals
Health services and providers in Australia delivering care to aging patients or those with chronic disease provide a very broad range of care, and will need to consider carefully the specific patient cohorts they can provide remote patient monitoring for, and adjust the model of care accordingly. The goals for implementing RPM can be different too. Of course, better health outcomes should always be one of the goals. Being more specific with your goals can help you achieve better results and track those results more effectively. For instance, a community based health service may want to reduce the travel time for their nursing staff by reducing the number of home visits, but supplement that with remote monitoring. Or, a chronic condition facility could aim for a goal of improving patient adherence to treatment plans.Step #2: Form a Multidisciplinary Team
Given the blend of clinical expertise, technological implementation, and patient onboarding needed for a successful RPM implementation, a multidisciplinary team is a must. At a minimum, implementing RPM will require a team that includes:- Clinical Staff: Doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers need to use the digital health platform to monitor their patients’ health data.
- IT Professionals: Implementing all of this technology requires the support of IT.
- Administrative Personnel: Constant RPM typically requires patient registration, device allocation and support to set up an App.
Step #3: Select Appropriate Technology
The needs and goals identified in step one should inform the technology to invest in. For example, prioritising user-friendly equipment would help a facility achieve the goal of improving their patients’ quality of life. On top of the specific needs and goals of your service, it’s also important to choose technology that integrates with your existing systems. That’s why DC2Vue integrated their RPM software with iHealth devices and Roche blood glucose devices to ensure a wide range of compatibility.Step #4: Develop Protocols and Workflows
Once you pick appropriate technology, you can start developing protocols and workflows for putting that technology to use. This includes practices for:- Patient Enrollment: RPM requires patient onboarding which includes everything from them using the monitoring devices to setting up an App.
- Data Collection: In cases where data collection is not continuous, create standardised guides for patients to follow dictating when and how they should collect and report their health data.
- Follow-Up Procedures: Clearly define the model of care governance for monitoring of observations results and escalation of care.
