Our world has undergone significant changes in the twenty-first century, with technology at the forefront of the revolution. Since everything can now be done online thanks to technological advancements, including buying clothes and cars, it makes sense for doctors to examine patients through digital healthcare rather than just looking at one reading every six months. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) enables doctors to remotely manage both acute and chronic diseases, save patient travel expenses, and lower the risk of infection. RPM has been widely adopted, by 57% of all medical practices.
Physicians and their teams already experience significant burnout and struggle to deliver the high-quality care that they once took pride in due to the current medical staff shortage at all levels of healthcare. Personal Care Physicians commonly think that introducing RPM will increase the workload they already face. It sounds like an impossible goal to implement a new method of working, master new systems, and provide care more quickly than they did previously.
RPM, on the other hand, equips practices to tackle this problem head-on. They are able to ease the burden on their staff by reducing the number of unforeseen in-person appointments required, allocating some of the workload to devoted RPM nurses who watch the system, and giving patients better healthcare outcomes.
Many medical professionals worry that adopting digital healthcare may lead to providing less individualised medical care to their patients. After all, using electronic health monitoring gadgets to track glucose or blood pressure may come off as impersonal. However, this is not true.
● When there is an emergency, medical services are quickly accessible to patients because of RPM.
● PCPs can offer prompt, individualised care, thanks to the data collected from RPM medical devices.
● Because they may only rely on the patient's word that they are following the prescription, PCPs and their teams frequently struggle to monitor patients' adherence to medicine. Some RPMs have medication management features that offer concrete proof of compliance or non-compliance, enabling medical teams to act sooner.
With the help of the ability to spot anomalies from the health data collected, PCPs can detect at-risk patients and take action to lessen the severity of their disease quickly, instead of waiting for the patient to seek help.
It is generally misunderstood that digital healthcare requires high investments in advanced technology. Investing in digital health monitoring softwares and devices is deemed to be an unreasonable step by most small physician practices, post two years of pandemic-related cutbacks.
However, the pandemic has helped as a catalyst in providing simpler and cost-effective virtual solutions for almost every sector. Some virtual solutions that require minimal upfront technology investments include web-based RPM platforms, mobile apps, and text-based engagement options, which further help in increasing flexibility and access to providers as well as patients.
As per their convenience, a family usually prefers visiting a PCP that is close to their home so that they do not need to travel a lot just to get themselves checked. When considering remote patient monitoring, doctors frequently worry that if the location is no longer a factor, some of their patients will go to another PCP.
As RPM is not used in place of regularly scheduled office visits, this concern is generally unjustified. However, it is used in between office visits and even when video telehealth is in play. There will always be situations where a physical visit is necessary.
The fact that digital healthcare through RPM is expensive or that choosing this option may lower reimbursements and have an influence on PCPs' revenue is one of the main obstacles to its adoption. Following the COVID-19 losses, many practices are still working to regain their footing, and they cannot afford to take another financial risk.
For PCPs, remote patient monitoring provides chances to increase reimbursement income. They also reduce staffing and overhead costs concurrently. They increase productivity, utilise fewer materials than during in-person visits, and spend less on administrative costs. All of these elements contribute to increased profitability and return on investment.
