The sudden and global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated several trends that were already in motion. In the enterprise, work-from-home (WFH) models and, in education, distance learning are just two examples of emergent shifts that rapidly picked up speed as the circumstances demanded. When it comes to healthcare, telehealth and remote patient monitoring are two areas that have seen rapid expansion under pandemic conditions.
It might be tempting to think that the telehealth services and remote patient monitoring systems that were rolled out in response to COVID-19 will be rolled back in a post-pandemic world. But nothing could be further from the truth. Just like remote work and distance learning, the mainstreaming of remote patient care has rapidly convinced both professionals and consumers of its benefits. Skeptics have changed their minds after seeing the practical advantages.
In fact, as early as March 2020, industry bellwethers like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were embracing these new technologies. That led experts to predict that the remote patient monitoring market will double in the next five years.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM): The new status quo
Although the utility of remote patient monitoring might be obvious during a pandemic, what explains all this industry enthusiasm for it going forward? Why are RPM and telehealth here to stay?
Here are just a few reasons why these two fields are now a permanent part of the status quo:
- Increased efficiency: Both RPM and telehealth solutions reduce non-essential in-person visits. During COVID-19, this has minimized exposure among medical professionals and patients. However, it also streamlines regular visits. Just think of how much time patients spend in waiting rooms for routine checkups while staff perform administrative duties.
- 24-7 care: It often seems like medical problems arise outside of standard working hours or on the weekend. With telehealth services, patients can conveniently solicit medical advice or basic treatment at any time. And remote patient monitoring systems allow healthcare professionals and caregivers to keep tabs on patients regardless of physical proximity, giving both parties freedom as well as peace of mind.
- Better outcomes: Remote patient monitoring is especially well suited to alerting medical professionals of an impending emergency. That forewarning allows them to be proactive rather than reactive, which could quite literally make the difference between life and death.
- Lower costs: The data that can be aggregated and analyzed using RPM and telehealth platforms leads to improvements in disease management. Not only does that result in better quality of care, it also helps to keep costs directed toward the most effective treatment. In addition, telehealth services allow hospitals to dynamically scale their staff to match demand. That can minimize idle downtime or unnecessary overtime.
Leverage the potential of RPM with Bridgera
Prior to the pandemic, the major challenge facing the widespread adoption of remote patient monitoring and telehealth wasn’t just acceptance. There has also been an ongoing problem of fragmentation. To properly monitor chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, it takes a network of different devices to collect and process patient data in real time. It also requires a platform that integrates that data and empowers healthcare professionals to make sense of it.
That’s why we developed myHealth. Designed with both patients and medical professionals in mind, Bridgera myHealth is an easy-to-deploy solution that consists of a web portal for the doctor’s office and a mobile app for patients. Between visits, the native iOS or Android app collects data from Bluetooth-enabled health monitoring devices and transmits the information to a secure cloud portal. Medical professionals can view that data conveniently and securely via a software dashboard.
Bridgera myHealth achieves all the promise of telehealth services by making it easy to schedule appointments and conduct HIPAA-compliant video calls and messaging. It integrates seamlessly with electronic health records (EHR) solutions, offers to remind patients to take their medication and even provides medical staff with streamlined patient onboarding and management tools.
For more sophisticated remote patient monitoring initiatives, there’s Bridgera Monitoring. With this HIPAA-compliant remote monitoring solution, healthcare providers can leverage the full potential of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). It’s ideal for organizations that want an end-to-end IoMT solution with almost unlimited capabilities, thanks to powerful features like map views, custom analytics and comprehensive device integration—including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular.
Bridgera’s remote patient monitoring and telehealth solutions can help your organization avoid fragmentation and capitalize on fast-growing IoMT trends to deliver superior quality of care too. Contact us or simply request a demo today.
