Providing high-quality medical care is expensive & time-consuming and requires close cooperation of many entities. Aging society, a growing number of chronically ill patients, and medical staff shortages make it more & more challenging and at times impossible.
Patients with chronic illnesses often improve while being in hospitals. However, some people struggle after discharge to maintain their health & adhere to their care plan, and some might even end up getting readmitted, which is another serious problem. These often preventable readmissions can cost significant money & resources for hospitals & healthcare providers.
Each patient should receive the same degree of care & attention outside of the hospitals they get while being admitted, which isn’t possible in today’s healthcare system because healthcare providers can’t spend much time with patients. Also, patients with chronic illnesses require a high level of direct treatment, which is another difficult task for healthcare providers.
Since value-based healthcare should aim for shorter hospital stays, reduced readmissions, & improved patient outcomes, there’s been a requirement for a solution to constantly monitor & engage high-risk patients outside the confines of hospitals.
As a result, it has fueled the demand for remote patient monitoring systems that keep patients & their care teams in constant contact with each other to coordinate treatment & manage complex illnesses with ease. Due to the mounting demand for these devices, a research report has cited the predicted compounded annual growth rate of 18% for the remote patient monitoring system industry in Saudi Arabia during 2022-27.
What is a Remote Patient Monitoring System?
Remote patient monitoring systems involve the use of an easy-to-use medical device, a smartphone app, cloud storage, and hospital-end software. The smartphone app offers patients instant analysis of their well-being by allowing little modifications to their everyday lifestyle that can effectively manage a condition and help them better identify unusual changes.
It further facilitates swift communication with healthcare staff in the case of an emergency, which enables constant monitoring of patients by data collected through the mobile application. Besides, remote patient monitoring system applications help get personalized notifications as per the patient status, see their medical history, & rapidly intervene when required.
Importance of Remote Patient Monitoring Systems
Proper communication & follow-ups between healthcare providers & people with chronic illnesses or disabilities as well as aging people with mobility impairments are crucial to ensure speedy & efficient recovery of patients.
Remote patient monitoring devices offer transparency to both healthcare providers & patients. They help reduce the hospital readmission rate and, consequently, the travel time to hospitals, which further can be utilized for healing.
Besides, they also promote the proper management of any disease efficiently & effectively. Real-time data sharing through these devices can improve healthcare quality, save patients’ lives, and reduce the expenses of healthcare providers.
How Remote Patient Monitoring helps reduce Hospital Visits?
Remote patient monitoring systems use advanced technologies to track patients’ health from their homes. Using these systems, medical professionals can remotely measure or track the patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, and other parameters that require continuous monitoring.
Patients suffering from chronic diseases often use these technologies to consult doctors using mobile applications for effectively controlling & improving their health condition. Moreover, these systems are highly beneficial for people living in rural areas to access better healthcare facilities & reduce their hospital visits.
Top Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring Devices
Remote monitoring systems help save both time & money on traveling and repetitive hospitals visits. Physicians can offer personalized care and treat their patients effectively, which can be done using data shared between patients & healthcare providers through their mobile devices. The effective personalized treatment also helps reduce readmissions, which saves time for healthcare providers and allows them to focus on other patients.
Since remote patient monitoring is an online service, it helps reduce the waste produced while treating the patient. Besides, insurance companies are also increasingly willing to assist in reimbursement procedures for remote patient monitoring systems.
Final Words
Remote patient monitoring systems play a crucial role in improving patient outcomes & their quality of life. They help manage high-risk patients regardless of their location while optimizing costs. In addition, they are also beneficial in offering more reimbursement opportunities and meeting clinical targets than other healthcare services. Hence, with this, the tomorrow of telehealth services, such as remote patient monitoring devices, is more promising than ever, and abiding by necessary guidelines & best practices is the key.
