A key outcome from the COVID 19 pandemic has been an increase in the acceptance and use of virtual care, both by patients and doctors. Certainly the use of telemedicine has served patients while protecting them from exposure to the virus during in-office visits.

Supplementing this remote care, are devices provided to patients that monitor their blood glucose, blood pressure, weight, blood ketone, pulse ox, temperature – from home – and transmitting device readings to their physician via the Internet. Remote patient monitoring – RPM – is proven to be useful in avoiding emergency/hospital services.

Who Benefits?

Of course patients with chronic conditions benefit through continual monitoring of their conditions. Hypertension, Tachycardia, Atrial Fibrillation, Hypotension, Bradycardia, Arrythmia, Pacemaker, Orthostatic Hypotension, Syncope, Renal Artery Stenosis, Coronary Artery Disease, Myocardial Infarction, Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes all justify the use of an in-home blood pressure cuff.

Increasingly health systems take on risk by serving the health needs of patients for a fixed amount. RPM can play a vital role in detecting and addressing changing medical conditions, thereby reducing that risk.

And independent physician practices can be compensated by Medicare, Medicare Advantage and even Commercial carriers in a per-patient-per-month model for providing the devices, ensuring patients use them, and consulting with the patient about trends or outlying readings.

How Does Our Organization Launch RPM?

There are two technical components to RPM care. The devices and the software that collects the data.

RPM Devices

Devices transmit results via a cellular connection directly to the result collection database, or via Bluetooth to a hub located in the patient’s home that sends the results on. Some devices can connect to a smart phone via Bluetooth, eliminating the need for the hub. Some devices are multifunction – such as BP and blood glucose combined. Direct cellular connections are generally preferred as they are not dependent on Internet accessibility and are somewhat simpler to implement and support for the patient and provider.

Result Collection Software

Result collection is Internet cloud based and often provided by the supplier/manufacturer of the devices. Parameters are programmed into the software that are device and patient specific, sending an automated message to the physician care team when a reading indicates intervention. The software also enables graphs and reports to spot trends that may also trigger physician outreach. There are optional interfaces to EHR software for result storage.

Do It Yourself, or Use a RPM Supplier

Device manufacturers can provide all the tools you need to implement the service. But insurance carriers including Medicare dictate that the devices be provided free to patients and reaching out to patients with qualifying diagnoses and the requisite coverage uses valuable resources.

Services from firms represented by Precision Healthcare Consulting will provide the devices, software, patient outreach and support for a portion of the fees you earn through insurance reimbursement. No upfront investment required. Reach out to us to learn more!!