The Holy Grail of remote patient monitoring (RPM)

“Remote patient monitoring enables patients to be proactive about their health while providing their physicians or care teams with greater insight.”

Lisa Marie WANG, Procter & Gamble

Patients with diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses find value in having healthcare professionals monitor their well-being remotely. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) enables patients to be proactive about their care to avoid complications or react to possible life-threatening changes in their health. By adopting remote patient monitoring using connected medical devices and mobile apps, healthcare providers can monitor vital signs, sleep, physical activity and mental health at regular frequencies (or continuously).

I have been working as a medical device manufacturer for over 30 years now. There have been three main phases that I have seen in medical diagnostics.

-?????? We concentrated first on the actual measurement method, making the measurement of vital signs more and more accessible and accurate. This was what I call the “mechanical” phase.

-?????? Then we concentrated on making these devices more and more intelligible and user-friendly. After all, taking a measurement is easy, knowing what to do with it is more interesting. So, we connected the devices to smartphones and other platforms to take the signals of the body and translate them into a meaningful format for the end user. This was the “measurement” phase.

-?????? We are now entering the third phase of medical diagnostics, which is the “management” phase. This management phase will use the data generated by millions of patients worldwide to manage pathologies better and to offer Remote Patient Monitoring. After all, it is much easier to make data travel than to make patients travel.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) allows patients to use mobile medical devices and technology to gather data and send it to healthcare professionals. By connecting high-risk patients with remote monitoring, it can notify healthcare organizations of potential health issues or keep track of patient data between visits.

RPM technology can range from home medical devices to online platforms that allow patients to input data. Some pathologies and technologies are ideally suited for remote patient monitoring:

-?????? Blood pressure or heart rate monitors.

-?????? Glucose monitors for diabetes.

-?????? Fell detectors for elderly patients.

-?????? Continuous surveillance monitors for locating dementia patients

-?????? Blood oxygen monitors for post-Covid care

-?????? Diet logging programs

-?????? Medication adherence programs

How remote patient monitoring works

While RPM techniques can vary depending on the device being used or the condition being monitored, most of the technology works the same way. A wireless-enabled sensor measures specific physiological parameters and stores the data it collects. The data collected by the device is sent to the proper location and stored in a relational database. This allows healthcare organizations to look at data as individual instances or in the context of an entire health history. Often, the device can alert patients when a healthcare provider has looked over the data or detects an issue that requires the patient to come in.

The benefits of remote patient monitoring

-?????? Increased patient engagement. RPM devices allow patients to play a crucial role in managing and understanding their own health conditions.

-?????? Improved quality of care. RPM gives patients and healthcare providers access to more relevant patient data, thus improving overall quality and value-based care.

-?????? Better access to healthcare. Since RPM allows patients to complete basic health testing on their own, healthcare professionals can treat more patients without any limitations of location. This goes a long way in eliminating “medical deserts”.

-?????? Higher levels of education and support. RPM gives patients information and feedback about their personal conditions daily, educating them and providing support.

-?????? Patient assurance. Constant monitoring can give patients a peace of mind that any potential issues will be identified in a timely manner.

The next step in RPM?

Currently, most devices (blood pressure, ECG, glucose, weight, respiration rate, etc.) are single measurement devices limited to single measurements of that pathology. The patient uses the device at a specific time and the data is then sent to the medical provider. There will be two main directions that devices will take to fulfill the future needs of RPM systems, which are wearable devices and multi-parameter devices.

As its name implies, a wearable device is worn by the patient continuously and continuously monitors specific parameters (as opposed to current devices that simply take an instant measurement and send it to the data base). By moving to wearable devices for RPM, the amount of clinical data captured massively increases. The wearable continuously communicates vital data to healthcare staff, enabling them to detect and address problems as soon as they arise. A great example is the development of the Freestyle Libre (https://www.freestyle.abbott) glucose monitor, which continuously monitors the glucose levels of the user and which will eventually be able to control the insulin pump of the user so that he will no longer need to manually inject himself with insulin.

I believe most people have seen Star Trek, with its multi-parameter TriCorder, a magical device wielded by the doctor on board the Enterprise. In the show, a doctor uses the tricorder and its detachable scanner to quickly gather data on a patient and instantly work out what was wrong with them. It checks organ functions and detects diseases and their causes, and even contains data on a range of alien lifeforms.

True-to-life multi-parameters devices are coming, such as the WellVII VitalDetect (https://wellvii.com/), which measures 9 parameters in under 90 seconds and allows the user to automatically transfer them to a medical provider. Effectively the WellVII VitalDetect replaces an unaffordable set of multiple devices with a simple and cost-effective solution where the patient can monitor multiple pathologies with the press of a button.

Though RPM relies heavily on technology, it doesn’t cut out the human element. Far from it. With this real-time, accurate data on patient health, care managers can prioritize patients and their needs. Apps allow patients to report symptoms, receive medication reminders, review educational material and even visit with their doctor via video. Studies have shown that this approach has a positive impact, empowering patients and leading to better outcomes.

RPM is already moving to the forefront of the industry, and given current and projected future trends, it clearly has significant upside potential for the coming years.