Remote patient monitoring (RPM) offers a tool to closely track a wide range of chronic conditions. At its core, RPM uses a Bluetooth-enabled or cellular device to measure physiological data and shares those data with a healthcare professional (HCP). It can be a powerful way for patients to gain insights into their health, track their condition from the comfort of home, and collect the information necessary to make a diagnosis or evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment plan.
RPM can be applied to track many different chronic conditions, including diabetes and heart disease, or to assess patient health before a diagnosis is made. Here, we’ll walk through the capabilities of RPM and give you information to discuss with your doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to determine if an RPM device could be helpful for you.
How does RPM work?
RPM allows patients to collect data, such as their blood pressure or blood glucose levels (see more below), via a device prescribed by an HCP. The devices can be used from the patient’s home, making it easy to gather important health data on the patient’s own schedule. The Bluetooth-enabled or cellular devices transmit data from each reading the patient takes to the HCP, so that the doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant can monitor the patient’s condition.
What can RPM measure?
A number of chronic conditions can be monitored using RPM. These include hypertension, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and diabetes-associated foot disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others. While not all devices made for use at home qualify for RPM, there are a broad range of digital scales, blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, spirometers, and pulse oximeters available for use. Our list of devices that can be used with RPM365 is constantly expanding.
What are the benefits of RPM?
Increased diagnostic yield: Using RPM generates far more data points for use in establishing a diagnosis or to see the effect of a new treatment plan as compared with the data that can be gathered during office visits. With these more frequent readings, RPM can show your HCP if there are fluctuations in your condition perhaps based on diet, changes in sleep, or other factors. Since the data are transmitted directly to your HCP, you won’t have to worry about tracking the values yourself or keeping a log to share with them at your next visit.
Care from the comfort of home: Since RPM can be used at home, taking a reading can fit into your daily routine and eliminates the need for frequent office visits. This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic as it reduces the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. It also means that you can monitor your health regularly even if the office of your HCP is far away.
Better management of your health: RPM allows you to take an active role in managing your condition. You will gain a more detailed picture of your health, and being in control of taking these regular health checks can give you added peace of mind. This consistent monitoring improves patient health, lowering hospitalizations and readmissions. Additionally, RPM usage has been associated with fewer exacerbations for patients with COPD, lowered blood pressure for hypertensive patients, and better regulation of blood glucose levels for diabetics.
How can you use RPM?
- Check out our blog to learn more about how RPM can be applied to your specific condition.
- Share our blog and demo links with your HCP so that we can help them get RPM set up for their office.
- Talk to your HCP about registering with RPM Healthcare. After they sign up, they can get you started with the RPM program.
