The increasing demand for telehealth solutions has led several providers to consider introducing new services like remote patient monitoring (RPM). Yet, with 81% of physicians describing themselves as overextended or at full capacity, starting programs like this in-house can be overwhelming. If you are interested in adopting this service by partnering with a turnkey RPM provider, you may have some questions about its benefits. Before implementing RPM, we have outlined these key questions to ask to help determine if it is the right fit for your practice and how to find the right partner.
When deciding whether an RPM system would work well for your patient population, there are a few considerations that must be accounted for before launching. For example, which population type would this service most benefit within your practice? Will it be chronic disease patients, elderly patients without chronic conditions, or post-operative patients? At Wellbox, we have documented the positive impact that RPM has had on the chronically ill Medicare population. It has decreased emergency room visits and hospitalizations by up to 70% while also having an 85%+ engagement rate.
Next, how will you select these targeted populations and evaluate the self-reported clinical data? Finding the right population for this service and determining how to intervene based on the results will reveal how successful the program can become.
Finally, if you are taking a team-based approach to this care management service, who will monitor and analyze the results and trends of the clinical data? Also, who will present relevant results to you so you may adjust treatment plans more quickly and efficiently? One way to ensure you are notified of potential health concerns for the patients using RPM is to partner with a population health solution like Wellbox because it acts as an extension of your practice.
Our team of registered nurses helps better coordinate the care of the patient by alerting you of any concerns in the data faster and more efficiently. After each encounter, they also document notes directly within your EMR system, allowing you to keep track of patients’ health.
Several studies have found that RPM can help improve patient health with several chronic conditions including hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes compared to typical care and self-monitoring alone. Clinical Outcomes Include:
Additionally, research from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that wearable trackers “are a more reliable measure of physical activity and better than patient surveys and other methods used by physicians at assessing the five-year risk of death in older adults. The research also added to evidence that an accurate and objective accounting of physical activity outperforms traditional predictors of mortality within five years, such as age, smoking, diabetes, alcohol use, or history of cancer or heart disease.”
These devices can essentially help patients manage their chronic conditions successfully by helping them reduce unhealthy behaviors while improving physical activity.
The technology and the ability to interpret and operate it is a major factor when implementing RPM. It is important to consider the types of devices that can be used, the management and security of those devices and how that data will be analyzed, according to Advisory Board. For example, RPM solution providers typically install their software on preconfigured devices such as weight scales, blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, and blood glucose monitors. They should also be able to offer a process on how the device will be installed and receive ongoing maintenance. Along with managing the device, determining how data is collected, stored, and filtered should be identified to ensure providers are alerted of any irregularities with their patients’ health.
Determining the cost-effectiveness of an RPM solution relies on researching its benefits, delivery model, and actual approach. If you find that it allows you to extend patients’ access to quality care while also increasing your revenue potential, the solution can ultimately prove to be cost-effective. Additionally, the lasting benefits of the program could outweigh potential negatives. These benefits can include lower healthcare costs, reduced hospital readmissions, and the ability to optimize you and your staff’s time.
Finding the right solution that works well for your practice can also depend on partnering with a turnkey model that can seamlessly implement it. A true end-to-end solution can minimize the barriers for adoption from enrollment to revenue cycle management. And, when done properly, it can increase patient engagement and satisfaction, which leads to more patients getting the care they need.
Even though all remote patient monitoring solutions allow physicians to remotely monitor their patient’s data, finding the right partner is vital in helping patients successfully manage their conditions. When deciding upon an RPM provider, ensuring it is the right fit for your practice depends on several factors. These include:
The increasing adoption of telehealth solutions, such as Remote Patient Monitoring and Chronic Care Management, help to drive meaningful patient engagement, and improve clinical outcomes. When actively employed together, these two services can substantially decrease the damaging effect chronic illness has on the healthcare system.
Wellbox implements RPM to enhance its CCM solution with real-time, actionable data and expand access to care to patients with chronic conditions who do not qualify for CCM. RPM strengthens its efforts to better clinical and financial outcomes for patients, providers, and the health system.
Without proper guidelines and implementation, introducing new programs like RPM can be a challenge. Wellbox understands these obstacles and makes launching these solutions easy for practices so they can focus on their patients’ care. If leveraging Wellbox’s turnkey Remote Patient Monitoring solution sounds like something that could work well for your practice and patients, our team can help set it up for you. Contact us today to get started.
If you would like to learn how to improve clinical outcomes while increasing patient engagement, this recorded webinar discusses how this remote solution can help providers like you advance patient outcomes, increase visibility into population trends, and improve performance against quality measures.
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