Seven Typical Devices for Remote Patient Monitoring
Providers can keep an eye on, document, and evaluate their patients’ acute or long-term medical issues from outside of a hospital or clinic using remote patient monitoring (RPM) equipment. They allow the healthcare professional to make proactive clinical choices by providing real-time information of the patient’s illness status.
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Patients may interact with and comprehend their health on a regular basis with the use of remote patient monitoring equipment. Patients are more likely to see long-lasting improvements in their health when they use RPM devices to actively participate in their care on a regular basis.
1. Blood Pressure Cuff
Blood pressure cuffs use variations in arterial motion to determine a patient’s heart rate and blood flow. The Bluetooth blood pressure cuff is comparable to the one we’ve all used at the doctor’s office; the main distinction is that the data is sent to the practitioner in real time for evaluation.
Monitoring blood pressure can help manage a number of illnesses, such as diabetes, renal failure, CHF, and hypertension. At-home blood pressure monitoring is beneficial for any ailment where elevated blood pressure is a symptom. Regular blood pressure monitoring is advantageous because, unlike a single reading, it provides information on the heart’s condition on a daily basis. at cases where a patient’s blood pressure reading at the office is higher than it often is at home, it also helps prevent white coat hypertension. Conversely, regular blood pressure monitoring helps prevent disguised hypertension, which occurs when a patient has normal blood pressure at the doctor’s office but high blood pressure at home.
2. Glucometer
Using a little drop of blood applied to a test strip that is attached to the device, a patient’s blood sugar is measured by a glucose tester. The meter reads a little drop of blood that the patient applies to the test strip to determine the blood glucose level. After that, the supplier receives the reading in real time for evaluation.
A glucometer is a common tool used by individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to monitor their blood sugar levels. Many of them use it several times a day. Using a glucometer, a patient and their healthcare practitioner may better understand how different circumstances affect the patient’s blood sugar levels and diabetes symptoms. Medication side effects, food, exercise, stress, and sickness are a few of the variables.
3. Pulse Oximeter
A non-invasive clip called a pulse oximeter is placed on a patient’s finger, or sometimes their earlobe, to detect light wavelengths that indicate the patient’s blood oxygen level, or the amount of oxygen flowing in their red blood cells. The pulse oximeter also captures a patient’s pulse.
Patients with long-term medical illnesses, such as those with chronic heart or lung diseases like COPD or CHF, are monitored and screened for COVID-19 using pulse oximeters. Additionally, people with asthma and pneumonia are treated with them. Monitors of a patient’s lung function changes can be assisted by pulse oximeters. Low blood oxygen levels, for instance, are frequently a crucial sign of a successful diagnosis for COVID-19 patients.
4. Stethoscope + ECG
A stethoscope records lung sounds and heart sounds, whereas an ECG records cardiac activity. Patients with heart issues including arrhythmias or coronary artery disease frequently have their ECGs checked. By amplifying the body’s interior noises, the stethoscope allows the healthcare professional to record sounds from the heart, lungs, and colon.
Many HRS clients digitally record their heart and lung sounds utilizing biometric monitoring equipment. The patient self-monitors at home, and the clinician receives the ECG or stethoscope reading immediately for evaluation. This may be done in real-time through virtual visits, or the data can be kept in the ClinicianConnect® portal for clinical review at a later date. This makes it possible for medical professionals to remotely monitor their patients’ heart and lung sounds, facilitating early discovery and more individualized treatment.
5. Wearables (Activity Trackers and Continuous Monitoring)
Providers may monitor their patients’ heart rates, steps, fall risk, and even their sleep with the use of activity trackers. They give the healthcare professional a glimpse into the patient’s everyday activities, enabling them to better understand how the patient’s daily activities impact their health and symptoms. The activity’s data can be used by providers to guide a patient’s treatment strategy. Typical activity trackers include the Apple Watch and Fitbit.
Some wearables have a sticker or patch that allows for continuous monitoring. When worn by the patient, these wearables help with continuous biometric and symptom monitoring. With only one gadget, wearables can monitor a patient’s blood pressure, weight, stress levels, glucose, and heart rate.
6. Thermometer
A Bluetooth thermometer gives a quick and reliable image of the patient’s fever, or body temperature, giving the healthcare professional crucial information to guide the patient’s next course of treatment.
The market currently offers a wide variety of Bluetooth thermometers, including as contact thermometers that are often positioned under the patient’s tongue to obtain an accurate reading and non-touch digital thermometers that scan the forehead (temporal artery).
Fever is a crucial sign of a number of illnesses, such as COVID-19, the flu, or other infections. A fever may indicate the onset or exacerbation of symptoms for various diseases.
7. Scale
With the use of Bluetooth scales, patients may track changes in their weight over time, and their physician can keep an eye on those changes to make sure their symptoms aren’t becoming worse and take appropriate action if they are. This is crucial for CHF patients in particular, as weight changes are frequently caused by water retention. Since weight gain is sometimes one of the primary markers of worsening CHF, it is imperative that the provider be able to monitor changes in weight.
Bluetooth scales help obese people manage their weight by empowering them to take charge of their health and recognize patterns in their behavior. It is important to properly manage obesity since it is a major risk factor for several illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
By enabling the physician to have a more comprehensive understanding of their patient’s symptoms throughout time rather than simply during the in-person visit, remote patient monitoring technologies supplement in-person care. They assist providers in carrying out their duties in a more effective, data-driven, and efficient manner.
By enabling patients to take charge of their healthcare, remote patient monitoring systems enable individuals to actively participate in their health and recognize patterns in their condition.
Patients love convenience and want healthcare delivered right to their wallets in the patient-centric healthcare environment of today. Healthcare institutions throughout the nation have embraced this challenge and come to understand the numerous advantages of remote patient monitoring.
