5 Ways Healthcare IoT & Remote Patient Monitoring Are Transforming Care Delivery

Healthcare embraced with open arms the Internet of Things (IoT) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), which has over the years seen to form the perfect partnership. IoT is ensuring better connectedness across the various technological facets of RPM, and together they’ve helped usher in a new dawn in healthcare. In fact, experts estimate RPM use cases in the US will surpass 60 million by 2024. As we map our way into this evolution, today we shall explore 5 ways these technologies are transforming care delivery as we know it.

Remote Patient Monitoring IOT Enabling Preventive Care

The traditional way to go about care delivery is to wait until the patient comes to you, the physician. By this point, a medical condition may already be at an advanced stage, a situation that happens quite commonly with cancer cases, for instance.

However, an IoT based patient monitoring system can flip this model of care delivery on its head, taking the caregiver to the patient instead. Care teams can set personalized thresholds, with IoT-driven communication bringing to the physician’s attention out-of-range vitals as they change.

The benefits of this proactive care model, according to a roundup of several studies, are:

• Fewer ER incidences by 11%
• Reduced healthcare hospitalization/readmissions by 50%
• Lower costs of healthcare by up to $5,034 a year
• Medical intervention when patient symptoms are acute

Improving Health Outcomes Due To Better Data Traceability

Dark data and data silos continue to hold back the medical industry, with a CIO report placing estimates that these types of data make up between 40-90% of all data in any organization.

The priceless partnership of remote patient monitoring and IoT has been the key to unlocking the value of dark data. With a cloud-based approach to data management, these modern innovations have shattered the challenges of legacy systems which had limited visibility across platforms.

RPM and IoT have consequently enabled a more unified view of patient data. This has paved the way for better care coordination due to an accurate detailing of the patient’s history as it changes. Besides bolstering health outcomes, this has also made it easier for facilities to protect their patient’s data and observe compliance laws and regulations.

Delivering Patient Convenience To Boost Engagement

To a great extent, the success of care delivery relies on patient activation and engagement as well. In the past, this required a tremendous amount of follow-through from the patient, not to mention an enormous amount of time. With IoT and remote patient monitoring in the equation, things have gotten a lot easier.

For instance, most programs feature an RPM portal, with a patient-friendly UI. Via a plethora of IoT devices, patients can connect to their data from wherever location as and when they please. Furthermore, an IoT based patient monitoring system also saves patients the trouble of having to:

• Take pictures of their symptoms
• Note down details about their condition
• Send all these data to their physicians

Factor in the out-of-the-box nature of most RPM devices and solutions, and it’s even more apparent why engagement thrives due to minimal effort from the patient’s point of view.

Tearing Down Access Barriers For Patients

According to research by the World Health Organization, 5 in 10 people worldwide are unable to access basic health services, with accessibility challenges among the primary reasons for this challenge. Remote patient monitoring solutions are working to change this and accelerate care penetration, particularly across rural regions.

IoT encompasses a suite of wireless capabilities through cellular, WiFi, or blue tooth technologies, all of which pave the way for a more devolved care model. When paired with RPM, they enabled the dispensation of virtual and remote care. Therefore, an IoT based patient monitoring system negates travel challenges, as well as cost hurdles, ensuring more accessible – and affordable- essential healthcare services for all.

Shortening Turnaround Time For Diagnosis

Remote patient monitoring IoT technologies also go a long way to cut down on the length of time it takes for a physician to carry out a diagnosis. That’s primarily because these technologies enable the real-time, always-on tracking of patients and their data

As a result, physicians don’t need to wait until in-person appointments to get important data and milestones about the patient and the condition under management. If further clarification is necessary, the care team can obtain the extra information almost instantaneously by way of IoT communication features.

With shorter diagnostic turnaround time, the healthcare industry notices the following benefits:

• Improved patient and physician experience
• Enhanced patient service time
• Improved patient, as well as clinician, satisfaction.
• Fewer manpower expenses for medical workflows and more

RPM and IOT: The Perfect Marriage

IoT has proved the perfect foundation for the success of remote patient monitoring, providing the bridge between wearables, patients, facilities, and physicians. The result of this merger of innovative technologies has meant improved care accessibility, better connectedness for all parties involved, and the execution of proactive care. Check out the Aura Health website today to learn more about remote patient monitoring IoT.