Over the years, the healthcare sector has experienced tremendous growth through the innovations of digital health, telemedicine, and remote patient monitoring (RPM). However, these inventions were limited—not properly utilized—because patients come to the hospital anytime to see the medical professionals without restriction.
The year 2020 was an eye-opener, with the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the world. The pandemic led to an abrupt halt in our daily activities, and people were forced to stay at home. This restriction prompted the appropriate adoption of remote patient monitoring—a technological inventory used to deliver data directly to healthcare professionals.
Thus, allowing patients to be monitored regardless of their location. Remote patient monitoring is evolving fast today due to its flexibility, efficiency, and reduced cost. It is now becoming the new normal for the healthcare sector and has great prospects for the future.
Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring
Some importance of RPM which has prompted its wide use in healthcare institutions include:
Reduces Cost
Remote patient monitoring has helped to reduce expenses from both healthcare organizations and patients. With the cost of healthcare increasing daily, facilities require wise utilization of their resources. When patients are readmitted for the same illness, it quickly drains facility resources, leading to profit. But with RPM, patients are monitored remotely by easier access to their health data.
The data collected are then used to check the state of their health. Therefore, it prevents unnecessary visits to health centers by patients, which helps reduce costs.
Improves Patient Engagement
A good relationship between patients and healthcare providers improves their communication and engagement rate on several levels. RPM technology allows frequent interactions without the patients visiting the hospital. This frequency in communication aids efficiency by detecting any health problem at an early stage.
This helps build patients' confidence in their successful recovery. Also, good communication allows healthcare professionals to send patients reminders to take their medications or attend upcoming visits. The reminder prevents the waste of time that occurs due to missed appointments.
Managing Illnesses with RPM Devices
Many remote patient monitoring devices help manage patients' illnesses. These devices work together to collect daily health data of patients. RPM is used to cure or manage chronic illness of patients remotely through virtual channels, such as phone, email, portable medical devices, remote method of specimen collection, video consults, home health kits and so on.
With these RPM devices, patients’ data are collected remotely and automatically sent to the mobile device.
The data is then transmitted to the hospitals' data server for quick analysis. These systems also help to send alerts to medical professionals and patients whenever the measurement is at an abnormal range. The frequent checks and alerts by these devices help manage patients’ illnesses without them visiting the hospital.
Optimizes Time Spent with Patients
Healthcare professionals do not waste time taking routine vitals daily because this data is already available via RPM devices with RPM technology. This allows healthcare professionals to attend to many patients promptly. Thus, more patients are monitored remotely at a time.
In addition, medical professionals are less likely to experience burnout from routine tasks. They carry out their work efficiently. This will lead to more people wanting to work, thereby increasing the workforce.
Curb the Spread of Diseases
One obvious way to curb the spread of diseases is to reduce contact among people. This is essential for frontline workers who tend to come in close contact with infected patients.
A very effective way to limit close contact is the use of RPM. It allows no-contact patients care by restricting the need for medical professionals to be near patients when collecting their health data.
In addition, it enables patients with milder symptoms to stay away—either at home or in isolation—while they are being monitored.
Conclusion
RPM technology has shown great importance in the healthcare sector. With its gradual adoption in different parts of the world, RPM is becoming the norm for healthcare professionals.
Implementing the RPM technology has helped to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.
Therefore, with remote patient monitoring devices, an unnecessary visit to the hospital is avoided, and patients can enjoy in-home care.
No comments:
Post a Comment