What are the Impacts of Remote Patient Monitoring?

Not every visit with a medical provider needs to happen in person. 

Through an increasingly popular option for patient care, that’s starting to become the case. 

Remote patient monitoring allows for patient interaction and data collection outside of a traditional medical setting. 

Through a mixture of technologies -- such as health sensors, applications, and video conferencing -- remote patient monitoring allows healthcare professionals to streamline patient care. 

That’s why it’s become an integral part of community health programs. Remote patient monitoring helps medical professionals overcome barriers that have long impacted their work, such as: 

• Distance
• Patient engagement
• Lost revenue

5 Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring 

Also dubbed “telehealth monitoring,” remote patient monitoring has many benefits, including:

1. Improved access to medical care providers 
2. Reduced drain on the healthcare system
3. Better patient outcomes
4. Patient empowerment
5. Increased revenue 

1. Improved Access to Medical Care Providers

Remote patient monitoring brings medical professionals to a patient -- even if they’re located hundreds of miles apart. 

In other words, distance is no longer a factor in a patient’s treatment. 

Under the community health program model, participating medical services providers from all disciplines are brought together to respond to patient needs. Should monitoring mechanisms indicate a change in a patient’s condition, the appropriate healthcare professional responds to their case. This reduces the number of stops on a patient’s care journey to connect with the right care provider.

2. Reduced Drain on the Healthcare System

Remote patient monitoring keeps patients in their homes while receiving medical care. This is extremely important for those with compromised immunity or who are in the beginning stages of recuperating from surgery. Their chances of contracting an infection from another person -- be it a doctor, nurse, or patient -- are eliminated.

Telehealth monitoring also stops unnecessary -- and costly -- trips to emergency rooms. 

Patients experiencing non-emergency conditions skip the trip to an ER. Instead, they connect with an appropriately qualified medical professional for evaluation and care, leaving ER staff ready for true emergencies. 

The same can be said for routine screenings and checkups. Patients no longer need to be in the same space for standard medical evaluations, making doctors and nurses more available to those with pressing conditions.

With fewer patients filling waiting rooms, medical care providers are less overwhelmed and can deliver higher-quality care.

3. Better Patient Outcomes 

Telehealth monitoring tracks patient progress in real-time. This invaluable data is stored and is easily accessible, allowing medical providers to make more informed decisions on treatment. 

Patients with chronic conditions or those requiring regular check-ins interact with a medical professional more frequently.

This regular -- and almost immediate -- patient interaction also serves another purpose. 

Medical professionals may identify and treat a small change in a patient’s overall health before it becomes a bigger issue. On the same token, medical caregivers can identify other barriers to a patient’s wellness, such as a patient’s mental state or other conditions.

4. Patient Accountability

As data is tracked, remote patient monitoring allows medical professionals to identify shortcomings in a patient’s personal responsibilities to their wellness. 

For instance, a patient may choose to forego doctor’s orders, not take medication as prescribed, or continue an unhealthy diet. 

Data collected through telehealth monitoring shows the impacts of these decisions. Qualified healthcare professionals are able to provide encouragement to patients to follow doctor’s orders or explore other treatment options. 

This interaction can build rapport between a patient and medical care provider. In a sense, they become partners. 

5. Increased Revenue 

According to the Health Financial Management Association, approximately 1% of net patient revenue is lost due to charge capture errors. That equates to millions of dollars annually. 

Remote patient monitoring reimbursement is streamlined. 

Through telehealth monitoring apps, patient services are captured at the point of delivery. Medical professionals no longer need to worry about logging all the billable details of an interaction with a patient. 

As an added benefit, when it comes time to bill for medical services, the information is immediately available in the correct format. This increases billing efficiency and reduces the chance of lost revenue for medical service providers. 

Remote Patient Monitoring: Improve Efficiencies = Healthier Communities 

As technology continues to improve, remote patient monitoring is poised to play a much bigger role in patient care. Through its efficiencies and data collection, medical professionals can focus more on their primary job: helping patients get well. 

Learn how FieldMed’s software can integrate remote patient monitoring to your community.