Telehealth has taken centerstage this year as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted in-person office visits. McKinsey reports that the number of patients seen using telehealth has increased by 50 to 175 times over pre-pandemic levels. To realize the full potential of these virtual visits, gathering physiological data on patients is essential, and remote patient monitoring (RPM) offers a solution.
RPM devices not only enable measurement of patient vitals for telehealth visits, but also can significantly expand the diagnostic yield, allowing clinicians to observe trends over time and to detect events that might be missed with infrequent measurements at in-person office visits. Engaging RPM can be especially important to track and support chronically ill patients, whose underlying conditions make COVID-19 a far greater risk.
At RPM Healthcare, we understand that setting up telehealth capabilities can be challenging and time consuming, which is why we have built RPM365 to assist you each step of the way.
With RPM365, introducing and maintaining RPM as part of your practice is simple, giving your patients the benefits of regular monitoring without taking you away from your most important tasks. RPM365 is a turnkey platform; after you prescribe RPM for your patients and obtain the pre-authorization from their insurance, our team can do the rest. Alternatively, you can run the RPM365 platform entirely yourself or we can assist with select aspects—we listen to your needs to tailor our level of services.
Device setup: If your patient has a Bluetooth-enabled device they already know and like, we can most likely set it up to work with RPM365. If they need a new device, we have a selection of devices ready to ship directly to your patient.
Patient education: Our team can teach your patients how to use their RPM device, pair it with their smartphone or tablet, and ensure that data syncs to our RPM365 app.
Data review: Our trained medical professionals can analyze data that patients sync to the RPM365 dashboard and provide you with the information you need.
Reimbursements: We track the time spent both analyzing patient data and in communication with the patient to generate reimbursement reports.
To keep you up to date on changes to reimbursements for RPM and telehealth services, our blog has information on the latest news from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as other trusted sources.
There are signs that telehealth and RPM are here to stay. The proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule from CMS shows continued support for telehealth and RPM reimbursements beyond the public health emergency. Observing how applications of telehealth and RPM have surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent article from Harvard Business Review states, “We encourage leaders to act decisively in establishing new [RPM] programs by following best-in-class examples and guidelines. We believe that leaders who do so will spur a paradigm shift in how patient care is delivered that lasts far beyond the current crisis.”
To learn how RPM365 can support you and your patients, contact us or schedule a demo here.
