How Remote patient monitoring apps can transform the Healthcare Sector?

Ever wondered why the sales of fitness bands had seen massive growth? Or why doctors are asking to use PRM apps for tracking your daily activities? Remote Patient Monitoring is a highly preferred solution among doctors nowadays. Hence this article highlights the various RPM apps and technologies that are changing the Healthcare Sector.

Currently, the number of hospitals investing or willing to enter RPM systems stands at 88%. Moreover, the Consumer Technology Association has revealed that 68% of healthcare institutes are ready to use RPM solutions. These solutions can assist providers in managing the health of high-risk patients regarding hospital readmissions and emergency cases. Therefore, it is essential to know RPM’s working and the different kinds of patient monitoring apps and technologies involved.

How RPM Works?

RPM is not the perfect alternative for in-person care but is surely the one to pressure both patients and providers. With remote patient monitoring, you will have a much greater involvement as a patient. Now you can pursue better management for your health. Moreover, it will also help to cut costs on hospitalization and nursing.

Remote Patient Monitoring is a kind of healthcare delivery system that utilizes technological advancement to monitor patients. The key is to collect biometric data like BP, sleep quality, heart rate, and oxygen levels from a patient’s location. These data are then analyzed, interpreted, and transmitted to patient monitoring apps on your smartphone. A doctor can then see those data and further analyze you. Thus the need for hospital readmissions or checkups gets nullified. The RPM technology is very precise, and developers are working to make it even more accurate.

Hence, RPM has proved to be the best modern healthcare technology available nowadays. This has become the ultimate symptom management tool and allows risk-bearing institutes to monitor patients with chronic conditions remotely. As a result, readmission and costs have reduced, care quality has improved, and patients are under more intense monitoring.

What are the different Remote Patient Monitoring Technologies?

RPM provides a wide range of solutions. However, the basic principle is the same for every solution – collect and interpret physiological and biometric information. The RPM wearable and mobile devices are usually synced with patient monitoring apps for recording data. Some of these devices are:

Smart Health Watch –

Gone are the days when smartwatches used to only count steps and tell time. It has now become one of the most advanced and essential healthcare tools for any health-conscious individual. A smart health watch now has various features like health tracking, sleep tracking, and activity tracking. Moreover, it also monitors heart rate count. Other than these, it has some phone-related features like reading notifications, sending messages, or making calls.

Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor –

The main work of this device is to measure your blood pressure. However, it also monitors your daily activities such as distance traveled, calories burned, or steps are taken. A blood Pressure Monitor can also provide regarding personal habits that are affecting your BP.

Wearable Fitness Tracker –

Fitness trackers are wristbands integrated with sensors to track a user’s daily activity. It also monitors heart rate. The data amassed by fitness bands gets transferred to patient monitoring apps used by the patient. This helps doctors to monitor patients remotely and with greater precision.

Patch – Biosensors –

These biosensors come in the form of self-adhesive patches. When attached to a patient’s body, it collects respiratory rate, movement, temperature, and heart rate. This data gets streamed to the patient monitoring apps on the patient’s phone.

Wearable ECG Monitor –

Wearable ECG Monitor measures electrocardiogram and transfers the data to the patient’s health records and healthcare providers. These can also track atrial fibrillation, elevation, and distance to provide more information to the doctors.

The demands for these wearable devices have increased rapidly. The main aspect of these technologies is to collect a huge amount of physiological and health data. Therefore now, it is possible for a healthcare institute to monitor your activity and sleep data from your location. Most of these wearable devices are connected with the patient monitoring apps in the user’s Smartphone to store this information. Hence, patients don’t need to measure their own vitals and enter the data manually or visit a healthcare provider for this work.

What are the Most Popular Applications for RPM?

Smart wearables are not the only aspect of RPM technology. These devices also need a suitable platform to store and analyze data. Hence several mobile applications are there to assist in these real-time tracking processes. Some of the best patient monitoring apps are:

Dexcom –

The main field of expertise for Dexcom is blood glucose monitoring. In the Dexcom G6 CGM system, you will get a wearable sensor and transmitter for sending data to your Smartphone. The system also contains the Dexcom Clarity software.

Medtronic –

You will get a full suite of patient monitoring apps with Medtronic. There are patient-facing applications for Android and iOS devices. Moreover, it also contains a Medtronic Care Management Services platform through which doctors can analyze your data. There is also an alerting system for clinicians regarding the patients.

JotForm –

JotForm consists of HIPAA-compliant forms. You also have to agree to a HIPAA-required BAA for collecting data. There are also certain sets of templates available for the users. JotForm transmits these forms securely to your Smartphone for you to review them.

Resideo LifeStream –

Resideo consists of a complete set of products and patient monitoring apps. The data collected by the Resideo devices go to the LifeStream software. The doctor’s dashboard then displays this information. Doctors also receive an alert when the patient data goes outside the ‘normal’ range.

Philips –

The Philip platform comprises an eCareCoordinator Clinical dashboard for doctors and an eCareCompanion application for patients. This app allows doctors to create patient care plans and coordinate with other clinicians.

Senseonics –

It does Blood glucose monitoring.  The system includes a sensor that has to be implanted under the skin and a removable transmitter.

What are the Future Trends for RPM Technology?

With the RPM sector getting bigger and better with every passing year, the focus is now on miniaturization. The developers and entrepreneurs working in this industry are aiming to make these solutions less invasive and smarter. Therefore it will make wearable technology more accessible for consumers.

Moreover, the advancement of RPM means more health benefits for consumers, providers, and insurers. Since all the vital statistics are in one place, a patient can easily prevent a minor problem turning into a major one. Many patient monitoring apps are assisting caretakers in integrating Electronic Health Records with these solutions.

Telehealth, blockchain-powered EHRs, AI wearables, patient monitoring apps, and Analytics are the Digital Healthcare industry’s foundations. Recent market researches have also revealed that both patients and doctors are ready to adopt RPM. This is possible because these solutions reduce hospital readmissions which are an issue for doctors and patients.

With its demand rising, every Mobile App Development Company in India is also working towards this sector. The progress of this industry can be the main catalyst for future innovations regarding healthcare solutions. Therefore, it is the need of the moment to promote the application of RPM more rapidly.

Author Bio:

James Grills is a marketing advisor – currently associated with Cumulations Technologies, a Flutter App Development company. He is a technical writer with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of mobile application development and IoT technology.