Remote Patient Monitoring- Healthcare’s Promising Future

Also known as telehealth in the healthcare industry, remote patient monitoring systems are quickly transforming the way healthcare is being delivered. There are several factors that have contributed to the growing popularity of remote patient monitoring systems, one of which is the increasing burden of chronic diseases around the world. In the United States alone, 48.3 percent of the population is likely to have one or more chronic diseases by the year 2020. This can cause serious financial consequences as healthcare costs are expected to account for 20 percent of the country’s GDP by 2019, with a significant portion of the spend addressing care for chronic conditions. Moreover, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the country could experience a shortage of 150,000 physicians in the next decade. All these factors point to healthcare costs skyrocketing in the coming years. The healthcare sector must bring down healthcare delivery costs while also ensuring the quality of care and improving access. Remote patient monitoring is a promising answer to these challenges faced by healthcare today. What is Remote Patient Monitoring/Telehealth? It refers to the method of monitoring patients’ vital signs remotely and managing their conditions through continuous assessment of health parameters via remote sessions that may include video-based consultations. Here, vital health data is collected through medical devices that remotely transmit information to physicians, who in turn assess these parameters to suggest treatment methods, lifestyle changes etc. to manage the condition effectively. This system makes it possible to build an efficient and effective patient care management framework that ensures timely care, thus minimizing the need for emergency visits, reducing the duration of hospital stays, and bringing down the rate of hospital admissions/readmissions. Remote patient monitoring also has the capability to create a paradigm shift in healthcare, making it proactive rather than reactive. This is because, a remote patient monitoring system can help healthcare providers constantly monitor patients, ensure they follow a healthy lifestyle, and adopt preventive healthcare measures. Thus, it also promotes patient self-management and gives them a feeling of independence and control over their health. The Promising Future of Healthcare Healthcare providers have been weighing the potential of remote patient monitoring in improving the quality of healthcare, increasing access to care, and reducing the cost of healthcare delivery. Although there are some barriers to the adoption of remote patient monitoring systems, with industry experts developing highly capable remote patient monitoring solutions that can break these barriers, healthcare is likely to soon reap the multiple benefits of using remote patient monitoring, in the near future. Check out - Aerospace engineering