Using RPM To Improve Diabetic Care For Patients And Providers

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases that severely impact populations all across the globe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 26% of the older populations, aged about 65 and older, live with diabetes in both diagnosed and undiagnosed stages. Diabetes care management is not an easy endeavor and requires adequate access to proper tools and support systems. Specialized programs such as remote diabetes monitoring allow considerable ease in this regard and prove especially beneficial for the diabetic populations by improving patient engagement, enhancing financial outcomes, and refining clinical outcomes. 

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

Remote patient monitoring diabetes is one of the most significant discoveries ever made in science. This technology allows millions of diabetic and prediabetic people around the globe to keep their blood sugar levels and consequently their risk of severe cardiovascular disorders and other severe complications in check. This writing delves into remote diabetes monitoring and provides all the information that you need to know about this outstanding technology. 

Let’s get into it! 

How does Remote Patient Monitoring for Diabetes help Populations?

Remote patient monitoring is one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare, accelerated significantly by the impact of Covid-19. Remote patient monitoring for diabetic patients provides ongoing, consistent, accurate, and regular statistics about an individual’s blood sugar levels and thus plays a crucial role in identifying the affecting factors, chalking out a suitable treatment plan, and monitoring the effects of the present treatment procedures. It also provides healthcare technologies with a much clearer and more accurate picture of a patient’s health in between the scheduled clinical visits and prevents ambiguities brought about by extended testing.  

Related: Value Of Remote Patient Monitoring For Patients

Although healthcare providers do not check and monitor the data recorded by RPM devices on a daily basis, remote diabetic monitoring devices can inform a healthcare provider when a patient’s blood glucose level exceeds the prescribed amount, allowing them to intervene promptly and prevent any potential health concerns or complications. This consistent data collection also elevates the effectiveness of a patient’s weekly or biweekly care with a chronic healthcare provider. 

Diabetic patients can take a prominent part in managing their health by participating in an RPM program via the use of digital blood glucose monitors that detect and relay the daily blood sugar levels through a tiny cell-enabled hub in the patient’s house. This also allows enhanced adherence to treatment procedures, along with increased and seamless communication between healthcare providers and patients. 

Related: Using Remote patient monitoring to Manage Hypertension

RPM, Diabetes and the Reduced Cost of Healthcare 

Diabetic patients also face a severe economic toll on diabetic patients and the nationwide healthcare system. Medical costs for people with diabetes are about twice as high as compared to those without diabetes, which amounts to quite a large amount of financial strain. In 2017 alone, the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States was $327 billion. Apart from the overall economic cost of diabetes, the healthcare expenditure per patient for diabetes is substantial as well. According to the CDC, the healthcare cost for patients with diabetes elevated from $8,417 to $9,601 between 2012 and 2017. 

Telehealth and remote patient monitoring can help reduce these large figures by reducing clinical visits, optimizing clinical efficiency, decreasing costs related to transportation, reducing readmission and unnecessary health facility use, and retarding the costs associated with disease exacerbation primarily due to improved healthcare outcomes. A recent study from the University of California at Berkeley found that remote and digital health tools can help decrease a patient’s monthly healthcare costs by about 22%, along with the added benefits of enhanced long-term healthcare outcomes and practice efficiency. 

Related: Common Remote Patient Monitoring Devices

Thus, remote patient monitoring can effectively combat chronic diseases such as COPD, CHF, hypertension, and diabetes. RPM telehealth incorporation in diabetes care management can play a vital role in improving HbA1c and comorbidities, enhancing positive behavior change, improving patient self-management skills, allowing better access to healthcare, and increasing patient adherence to treatment plans. 

RPM and Enhanced Patient Engagement 

Keeping diabetic patients involved in their personalized healthcare plan is crucial for diabetes care management and quite hard as well. Most patients fail to consider diabetes as a serious ailment, which is one of the primary reasons behind this disease’s elevation to one of the most life-threatening ailments for humanity. 

Patients typically feel at ease with RPM solution as they determine their comfort and interactive level with technology to match the devices. Patients who feel comfortable with their treatment are likely to be more engaged than those who feel ill at ease. Patients with increased participation and engagement are generally associated with improved healthcare and glycemic control outcomes. 

SmartClinix offers the most suitable telemedicine platform for easier remote patient monitoring, which allows you to boost patient compliance and retention, augment revenue generation with RPM, and grow your practice by leaps and bounds. Head over to SmartClinix to know more and make an informed decision about the future of your practice!