After witnessing the revolutionary technology many healthcare systems have shifted towards remote patient monitoring. It is without a doubt the most remarkable tool that improves outcomes as decreases costs for patients and service providers, alike.
The communications technology created to increase efficient interaction has enabled a type of patient care that extends to the most remote parts of the globe connecting patients with physicians, maintaining constant engagement between patients and service providers, through the continuous stream of real-time health data.
A case study featured in the Harvard Business Review in 2020 reported: “ Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans developed a digital hypertension program staffed by pharmacists, who monitored 6,000 high-risk patients’ blood pressure readings remotely and followed up with patients via text and email. This program resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of patients who met their blood pressure goals.”
And as remote patient monitoring technology advances becoming smarter and more affordable- a lot of new innovative devices have emerged in the market available for hospitals and clinics with an aim to provide new potential revenue channels.
Why Have Remote Patient Monitoring Devices Become So Important?
Communication technology has enabled patients and service providers to interact and engage – as well as proves to be a significant tool in helping patients heal and recover at a much faster pace.
Moreover, remote patient monitoring devices are being adopted at a rapid pace due to the level of trust and transparency they provide.
The technology allows providers to have a deeper understanding of the condition a patient is suffering from as well as guides decision-making concerning treatment options.
Simultaneously delegating healthcare users to conduct self-help tests and providing more control of their care plans. While the service providers constantly receive a stream of carefully monitoring data to assess and evaluate better outcomes.
Remote monitoring devices have certainly reduced costs while prioritizing comfort and convenience for both patients and service providers alike. From lower readmission rates in ERs to saving time and costs during travel – has helped preserve time and energy needed by patients to heal.
This significantly also reduces stress and anxiety for patients who previously had to overcome several socio-economic obstacles to receive a successful treatment protocol.
Such technology and connectivity enable the healthcare sector to effectively manage people with disabilities, chronic conditions, or aging populations with mobility impairments.
Enabling patients to regain control of their lives – remote patient monitoring devices help reduces in-person tests, appointments, or the need to be hospitalized.
Though there have been remarkable contributions made by remote patient monitoring such as efficient and effective remote consultation, rapid response management however there are other transformations such as increasing the availability of bed space at medical centers that can be allocated for patients with severe conditions and emergency injuries.
Let’s take a look at some of the remote patient monitoring devices that have improved the quality of care while reducing costs for healthcare organizations and patients using artificial intelligence and monitoring technologies.
5 Popular Remote Patient Monitoring Devices
Dexcom
Is a company based in San Diego and offers a range of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products.
Through the use of CLARITY – customer relation management software that helps diabetic patients keep track of their glucose levels.
It shares real-time glucose readings and data to compatible smart devices after every five minutes. Thus real-time information about a patient’s glucose levels are being shared with all stakeholders including patients, physicians, and their family members or loved ones
Dexcom continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that allow diabetic patients to monitor their respective blood sugar levels closely throughout the day
Recent developments such as the company partnering with Alphabet’s life sciences unit – Verily, will be deemed instrumental in bringing about more revolutionary technologies in remote patient monitoring products. Current efforts are being invested in developing implantable diabetes sensors that use Bluetooth technology to transmit health data to a monitoring device or smartphone.
eCareCoordinator
Philips remains one of the leading entities in electronics and other innovative technology. One such ambit is Philips Healthcare which provides remote patient monitoring tools consisting of its eCareCoordinator (a clinical dashboard for ambulatory health) and eCareCompanion (a user-friendly patient app)
Introduced to facilitate patients who are repeat visitors also commonly known as “hospital frequent fliers” – with services and facilities that reduce cost burdens through remote self-care.
The clinical dashboard is part of the telehealth software platform that enables service providers to remotely monitor patients’ vital signs and share short surveys about their health conditions and status.
The services included provide service providers to use 2-way live video with patients, with features enabling them to attach photos to their respective records; and have unlimited access to a calendar that marks all care plan activity happening in the past, or presently occurring or will be in the future.
The platform has been designed to identify, prioritize and provide care to the patients at most risk for readmission, while simultaneously conducting cross-team collaboration to help every patient while maintaining quality delivery and effectiveness.
Some of the other features of eCareCoordinator are Issues, Tasks, Calendar and Sticky Notes as well as creating patient surveys in the 14 most common languages known in the United States.
Teladoc
Is safe to say that Teladoc is one the oldest and biggest contributors to the telehealth sector using information and communications technology to create telehealth care processes that provide real-time data and deliver the most efficient, highest quality care to patients.
Teledoc provides round the clock access to physicians worldwide via audio or video consultations and offers patients after completing a medical questionnaire as a prerequisite to connect directly with a certified physician, and obtain treatment and prescriptions
Teladoc offers services to treat general health conditions, and includes a limited line of specialty services i.e. therapy, dermatology, sexual health and tobacco cessation.
Teladoc has also transitioned towards the integration of AI and machine learning to improve diagnosis, treatment, and logistics through acquiring Oncology Insight – an IBM Watson-powered second opinion service designed for oncology experts.
It has also shifted towards virtualizing neonatology programs with an aim to enhance quality care for parents of infants and service providers – through its virtual Neonatology Solution.
Teladoc through its consistent efforts to innovate continues to deliver on its mission to provide improved healthcare with “greater convenience, outcomes and value”.
BioButton
The BioButton is a disposable coin-sized wearable device –also termed as a single-use device as it needs to be disposed of after a period of three months. But what does it do?
The device records an individual’s temperature, respiration, heart rate at rest, sleep activity, etc. Using its patented biosensor technology and advanced analytics enables the device to monitor the temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate to detect critical vital signs of the individual.
BioButton has proven to be a cost-effective solution for COVID-19 symptom monitoring and was also made available for the students of Oakland University to counter the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on campus and provide a viable FDA approved medical device that can detect signs or symptoms that lead to the rise and development of the disease.
The device supports a centralized dashboard using HIPAA-compliant protocols to ensuring the security and privacy of the data. This technology can now enable healthcare service providers to access real time information regarding the individual’s health conditions – and use advanced analytics to deliver medical-grade treatment at home.
OnePulse Smartwatch
With a classic design and innovative technology – the OnePulse smartwatch qualifies as one of the most affordable telehealth and remote patient monitoring devices available in the market. The device transmits data of the user’s health to the cloud, where healthcare professionals can access and monitor user data in real-time. It can also be connected to other medical devices i.e. glucometers, weight scales via Bluetooth.
The smartwatch features a stainless steel body and a 1.39-inch OLED display protected by sapphire glass – and provides heart rate tracking, stress detection, and supports breathing trackers and sedentary reminders.
The device also monitors heart rate and blood oxygen saturation remotely and offers to track for more than 110 various sporting activities while allowing you to monitor the data using the OnePlus Health app.
It also comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a built-in GPS, a 405mAh battery and supports wrap charging
