Remote Patient Monitoring Plays a Large Role in Successful Outcomes
It seems more and more often lately, I’ve been reading about remote patient monitoring (RPM) and how different segments of the healthcare industry are turning to these technologies as an effective and cost-efficient means of reducing hospital readmissions. The lead sentence of a recent WSJ article read: “Technology that aims to keep congestive heart failure patients out of the hospital is gaining traction.”
This is a good thing. We at Pharos have been using behavior change technology and RPM as a very effective tool for keeping heart failure patients healthier for the past 14 years. Providers and home care agencies have been embracing and using it for years.
The WSJ article cites some examples of payers who are turning to RPM, too. We are encouraged by the growth we are seeing in that segment of the healthcare market – growth that clearly indicates that these types of technologies are becoming more broadly valued and accepted as a critical element in cost containment and improved health outcomes.
RPM is not a substitute for care manager relationships with members. Instead, it is a great tool for improving the care manager and member relationship and keeping care providers apprised of a member’s current condition. Today’s behavior change and RPM systems employ a variety of approaches. We at Pharos favor an RPM system that includes and improves patient self-care because we feel that model better effects patient acceptance, program participation and long term outcomes.
“It (heart failure) is also one of the biggest single claims expenses at insurance companies,” the WSJ article notes. It goes on to say that hospital readmissions for heart failure can often be triggered by simple mistakes, such as consuming too much salt. RPM can catch those mistakes before patients land back in the hospital.
And the article is correct. Many readmissions for heart failure patients are avoidable, if the right RPM is being used. But let’s be clear: monitoring vital signs or passive sensor data may point to disease worsening that requires adjustment in therapy. Yet, when patients get actively involved in directly monitoring their own actions, behaviors and health status, we add powerful leverage to vital sign monitoring. Namely, patients learn to take better care of themselves! This isn’t news to us, but we are encouraged that it’s becoming news more broadly within the U.S. healthcare industry.
