The recent pandemic challenged and pushed the healthcare system to provide urgent solutions to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that high-risk patients continue to receive care. To mitigate the chances of exposure, there was a drastic shift to virtual care to reach more patients and provide the care that they need.
One of these virtual care solutions is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), which is a method of delivering care to patients by capturing patient data outside the traditional in-office setting. Leveraging telecommunication technologies, RPM can ascertain patient health status, assist clinicians to make informed decisions, and prevent escalation of chronic conditions and more recently, of COVID-19 infections.
RPM has provided a continuity of care amidst the fears, restrictions, and an overwhelmed healthcare workforce. It has delivered quality care and ensured patient safety by monitoring patients’ health in real-time and outside of the high-risk clinical environment during the Public Health Emergency.
So how did the healthcare system leverage RPM during the pandemic? What is the future of RPM as we enter a post-pandemic era?
There are valuable lessons we can learn from RPM and how it evolved with COVID-19.
RPM: In-Demand and Profitable
RPM has been an emerging chronic care tool even before COVID-19 came. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) acknowledged RPM’s value by incentivizing the program in 2018.
However, it was only during the first three to four months from the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak that rapid changes were adopted by CMS on RPM and other remote care regulations. From March 2020, there was a surge in RPM adoption as more consumers sought virtual care not only for its convenience and the reduction in healthcare costs but more so, for the safety it offers to high-risk patient populations.
For providers, this means an additional revenue stream from billable RPM services. With RPM rates remaining robust in the CMS 2022 Final Rule, there is an untapped cash flow that could help primary care providers expand their practice.
Scalable, Adaptable RPM Solutions
As we now transition to a back-to-office setup, RPM is able to help employers manage their workforce by setting up an efficient screening and monitoring process. RPM is shifting gears to monitor other patient populations other than the chronically ill or those in post-acute care.
RPM has many capabilities to fully comply with the COVID-19 screening guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Its devices can capture patients’ vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, and body temperature. With the technology in place, the program can easily scale up to accommodate other patient populations in need of monitoring.
We have seen how RPM services are able to adapt quickly to the needs of the healthcare sector when it comes to the urgent creation of virtual care solutions during the pandemic. RPM as a COVID-19 solution has taught us how technologies and innovations could save lives and transform the healthcare industry to be more resilient and proactive. RPM has been proven to be safe and effective.
Future Of Remote Patient Monitoring
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, RPM was already gaining in popularity. However, the outbreak has certainly propelled the technology further into mainstream healthcare due to its effectiveness at providing care while still protecting patients from getting infected. This demand for virtual care will persist long after the pandemic passes. According to McKinsey & Co., about $250 billion worth of present healthcare expenses can be optimized through remote monitoring and AI solutions, reducing the risk of errors as well as strengthening communication between doctor and patient. The Hospitalist has even noted that those physicians with poorer communication skills are associated with patients who have reduced medication adherence rates.
As reported by the American Medical Association, chronic health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes cause up to 75% of all deaths in the U.S. Globally, about one out of three adults suffers from multiple chronic health conditions.
There’s great news for those struggling with chronic health problems – the international RPM market is projected to soar from $23.2 billion in 2020 to a staggering $117.1 billion by 2025. In a few years, the increasing prevalence of accessible healthcare tools and people’s eagerness to submit and distribute data will spur its growth even further. Before long, automated processes like data analysis, AI and machine learning could take care of mundane tasks freeing up our front-line heroes’ time and energy so they can concentrate their efforts where it matters most.
RPM, Preferred By Consumers
Virtual care solutions already existed before the pandemic, but many were reluctant or dubious of their efficacy. When COVID came, consumers were forced to rapidly embrace telemedicine and they soon discovered that it provides many benefits. An MSI International survey in May 2021 indicates that 65 to 70 percent of consumers prefer remote monitoring of their vital signs rather than an actual visit to the doctor’s clinic. The primary reasons are convenience, cost, and having more control of their health conditions.
Patients and caregivers have realized that there is another way to obtain healthcare by using technology. COVID-19 has taught patients, especially the elderly and chronically ill that it is wiser to stay and receive care at home.
RPM Connects To Patients
One of the problems that some providers have with virtual care is that technology may be a barrier in connecting to patients, especially with the elderly. There is no replacement for human interactions or the traditional clinician-patient relationship. The truth is RPM supports this relationship by enhancing communication between a provider and the patient.
During the pandemic, RPM was able to identify socially isolated patients and screen them for depression or anxiety. The service can be utilized for virtual group sessions and to build a community for patient support, education, and assistance. Patients now have a ready lifeline to address health issues wherever they may be. Because of close monitoring, they also feel they are truly cared for and thrive in this level of attention potentially producing positive health outcomes.
Evolving, More Intuitive RPM Technologies
RPM relies on digital technologies to capture patient data and automatically transmit them without user intervention. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also able to send alerts and notifications to encourage and assist users to take their measurements or their medications. In time, AI will become more advanced with improved monitoring capabilities to assist the care team so they can focus more on patient engagement.
At present, many of the RPM devices are ready to be used out-of-the-box with cellular-integrated capabilities to transmit data without the need to connect to Bluetooth or WiFi. Over time, there will be lighter and more portable products in the market with more accuracy and longer battery life.
All these constantly evolving technologies aim in keeping the patient experience high and usage friendlier, especially for the elderly or the not so tech-savvy.
RPM Redefining Value-Based Care
RPM redefines the delivery of care by promoting the value of patient health outcomes as evidence of effective care. Physicians and practices are compensated for improving their patient’s health, reducing hospitalizations, and preventing the escalation of their conditions.
In the post-pandemic era, RPM has found its niche not only in continuing value-based care but in delivering innovative solutions for us to move forward and go back to life before COVID-19.
Ascent Care Partners or ACP keeps abreast of these innovations by offering turnkey solutions for both Remote Patient Monitoring and Chronic Care Management (CCM). Chronic care with remote monitoring remains crucial even as we hope that the worst of the pandemic is over.
Moreover, outsourcing is a more cost-efficient and time-effective solution because it brings in deserved revenue without increasing operational overhead. RPM and CCM need not be complicated, ACP will do all the work with no requirement of an upfront fee or risk on your part.
