For some chronically ill patients such as the elderly, or patients without access to public transportation, a trip to the hospital or doctor’s office isn’t always practical. This means they don’t go as often as necessary to manage their condition. For others, it is the cost of visits and treatments that keeps them away.
Even when such patients aren’t feeling well or can tell something is wrong; they hold off and lengthen the time between visits. Inevitably the condition worsens and they wind up in the hospital.
Remote monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease can change that. Using an at-home screening device, patients test their pulse, weight, blood pressure and sugar levels. Additionally, sensors placed around their homes track their activity, including when a patient has taken medicine and used the bathroom, eaten, slept and more. All of that data is then transmitted directly to the patient’s doctor or a nurse care manager who relays the information to the doctor.
The doctor can assess a patient’s condition in real-time, establish a treatment plan to correct any problems, and contact the patient right away to discuss next steps. That might be as simple as telling a patient to stop skipping their medication or requesting them to come in for a complete blood workup. Ultimately, the digital medical record takes the guesswork out of treating patients, making a doctor’s job easier.
More important however, is that healthcare providers stay connected to patients, allowing them to catch and treat issues quicker. This helps keeps patients out of the emergency room and prevents long stays in the hospital.
The technology is also helping to hold patients accountable for their own care. They can see for themselves how their daily routine affects their health -- for example, how skipping breakfast can play havoc with their blood sugar levels. Because there is a record of their behavior, they can’t deny how their own actions affect their health.
While the technology definitely benefits patients, it’s also a money saver for hospitals and health care organizations, specifically when it comes to the penalties associated with readmissions. Studies show roughly 15-25 percent of discharged patients are readmitted to a hospital within 30 days or less, and the government has taken action to reduce that number. Under The Affordable Care Act, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program mandates that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must reduce payments to IPPS hospitals who have excessive readmissions by as much as 3 percent of their Medicare payments.
Many of those readmissions are preventable, and remote monitoring is an affordable, effective way to keep chronically ill patients at home and out of the hospital. Savvy business owners and entrepreneurs will get ahead of this trend that’s already starting to save the healthcare industry billions of dollars.