How Remote Patient Monitoring Can Help Rural Practices And Patients

Telehealth has become a widely integrated system in the world post-COVID. It has made healthcare more manageable and more accessible for everyone around the world, including patients who have issues with geographical location. One of the key ways in which telehealth aids patients from remote areas is through a feature called RPM. 

What is RPM?

RPM, also known as remote patient monitoring, is a telehealth delivery system. Remote patient monitoring practices use the latest advances in information technology to collect patient data outside traditional healthcare settings like hospitals and clinics. 

Related: Using RPM To Improve Diabetic Care For Patients And Providers

It moves healthcare into the space of every day – the home where people spend most of their time, ending and beginning their day in these spaces. Remote patient monitoring practices bridge the gap between traditional healthcare space and where people are coming from every day. 

However, it is not based on sterility, as the name suggests. Instead of only relying on gadgets, there is an element of friendliness embedded in the practice because you can see one another. Technology makes patients feel relaxed and comfortable when managing their health, increasing engagement. 

Related: How Remote Patient Monitoring Can Save Time And Money

There are several benefits of RPM, especially RPM for rural areas and RPM for small practices. 

RPM for Rural Areas

There are several benefits of RPM for rural areas, including:

Easier access to good quality care:

People living in rural areas tend to have a higher mortality rate from many common and easily preventable diseases. According to the CDC, the top 10 leading causes of death in the US qualify for remote patient monitoring. These include heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, cerebrovascular diseases, asthma, or COPD. All these diseases have symptoms that can be monitored effectively using RPM technology. 

Cost-effective for patients and hospitals:

Remote patient monitoring is a cost-effective solution that provides patients with access to quality care while reducing the financial burden on the stakeholders in the business of healthcare, from the consumer to the institutions that pay for it. 

Related: How To Set Up A Remote Patient Monitoring Program?

Patients who live in rural areas have to invest a lot in terms of time and money to pay a visit to the hospital. This includes them setting a day aside from work to putting aside money for transportation for a visit. In addition, patients that have to visit the hospital regularly because of chronic conditions face several hindrances in terms of missed work, out-of-pocket copays, and managing transportation for visitation. 

The costs often become a burden which results in many patients opting out of going for management visitation, worsening their health conditions over time. Patients may usually choose to opt-out of specialized care too. Remote patient monitoring can help eliminate these costs altogether in some or more cases, allowing patients to receive valuable care from the comfort of their own homes. 

Higher quality of care:

Patients who receive RPM provide a unique and rare insight into their daily lives and health to doctors. This fundamental insight allows doctors to make better informed clinical decisions. Doctors make quick decisions on their feet based on real-time patient data, which leads to excellent health outcomes. Practitioners can address acute exacerbations in diseases timely before they derail into something worse. 

Related: What Makes RPM And Telehealth Different?

RPM is based on intuitive technology. It is simple and convenient, making patients willing to engage in maintaining their health. RPM delivery is also centered around a wealth of support, whereby doctors hold their patient’s hands and guide them through effective disease management to reduce the chances of the condition worsening and eliminate health emergencies altogether. As a bonus, patients obtain a sense of personal responsibility in managing their health. As a result, patients become healthier and are better satisfied with the quality of care they receive, given that it is so personalized. 

RPM for Small Clinics

Remote patient monitoring also aids small clinics and hospitals conquer their biggest challenges. Hospitals have become hubs of infectious diseases ever since the onset of the COVID pandemic, with doctors experiencing an all-time high of clinician burnout. Clinics and hospitals may not be eager to add another piece of technology into their daily rotation. Still, RPM technology will help trim down the current workflows and allow doctors to take part in valuable virtual patient care while keeping the load in the hospital low. 

Related: Value Of Remote Patient Monitoring For Patients

Doctors can become adept at the delivery system in a concise amount of time, given how intuitive it is, and they can share their burden with the healthcare team. Less pressure on doctors means more effective care is provided to patients who desperately need it. 

SmartClinix is a telemedicine and EMR solution for practices and hospitals centered around creating seamless care. Visit SmartClinix for more information on our remote patient monitoring services.