March 15, 2022
Healthcare is a rapidly evolving field in terms of technology and services. Recent advancement in this field is remote patient monitoring, which has numerous advantages in an aging world population with increasing health complications. With relatively simple applications to monitor patients inside hospital rooms, technology has advanced to the point where the patient can be allowed to engage in normal daily activities at home while still being monitored using modern communication and sensor technologies.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, IoT healthcare solutions have proved their potential to significantly improve patient outcomes and save millions of lives through remote patient monitoring (RPM) and Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCT) – all while addressing the challenges of rising healthcare costs and changing demographics. Attending the Medical Device Conference will give you all the information you need on RPM and DCT.
Remote Patient Monitoring and Smart Devices
RPM, also known as remote patient management, helps to compensate for the shortcomings of in-person medical check-ups. Smartwatches and other RPM devices can be worn all day. As a result, the ability to monitor your health while working, playing, or sleeping makes this an excellent alternative or supplement to traditional healthcare. For example, you might not notice an abnormal fluctuation in blood glucose or heart function at work, but the RPM device will immediately alert your doctor. As a result, it reduces the time required to schedule an appointment and obtain a diagnosis.
Remote patient monitoring is a part of healthcare that has seen widespread adoption in recent years in the Medical Device Conference. This is owing to an increase in the number of seniors who are opting for home-based care, in part due to the pandemic, but also because of the improved monitoring of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
Commonly Used Remote Patient Monitoring Devices
Using smart devices, your doctor or health care team can remotely monitor your health using a variety of technologies.
Glucometers
Glucometers measure a patient’s blood sugar by placing a small drop of blood on a test strip connected to the device. A small drop of blood is placed on the test strip by the patient, which is read by the meter to produce the blood glucose reading. The reading is then sent to the provider in real-time for review.
Wearables
Providers can use activity trackers to monitor their patients’ steps, heart rate, fall risk, and even sleep. They provide the provider with a window into the patient’s daily routine, allowing the provider to better understand how the patient’s health and symptoms are affected by daily activities. Providers can use the activity data to inform the patient’s treatment plan.
Smart Scales
Bluetooth scales allow the patient to track changes in their weight over time, and the provider to monitor those changes to ensure symptoms do not worsen and to intervene if they do. Bluetooth scales enable self-management for obese patients, encouraging them to take responsibility and identify trends in their behavior. Obesity is a major risk factor for a variety of conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, so it must be closely monitored.
Smart Thermometers
Recent innovations in Medical Device Conference revealed a Bluetooth thermometer that provides a quick and accurate picture of the patient’s fever (body temperature), providing the provider with important information to inform the next steps of care. Bluetooth thermometers come in a variety of styles, including non-touch digital thermometers that scan the forehead (temporal artery) and contact thermometers, which are typically placed under the patient’s tongue for an accurate reading.
Importance of Remote Patient Monitoring
Communication between the patient and the provider is critical in the healing and recovery process. Remote patient monitoring devices aid in the development of trust and transparency. They help users gain a better understanding of their conditions and treatments, allowing them to take more control over their care plans. When both the patient and the provider have more knowledge, better outcomes become more common and less stressful.
The benefits of remote patient monitoring include: early and real-time detection of illnesses, the ability to continuously monitor patients, the prevention of illness worsening and untimely deaths, cost savings in hospitalizations, a reduction in the number of hospitalizations, the ability to obtain more accurate readings while allowing patients to continue with their normal daily activities, improved efficiency in healthcare services through the use of communication technology, emergency medical care, and service for pediatric patients.
Conclusion
Remote patient monitoring is still in its early stages. As health sensors improve in accuracy, these devices will continue to provide more accurate readings. Many devices already use artificial intelligence to recognize patterns in health data, which can save time and improve analysis. As a result, using RPM devices can assist patients with a wide range of needs in better managing their healthcare.
However, the transition to the Internet of Medical Things, or IoMT, increases the number of cyberattacks against connected medical devices, putting patient data at risk and undermining trust in the sector.
Click here to attend the Medical device conference: Medical Device Safety And Regulations Compliance Forum organized by GlobalBSG to find out more about how telehealth companies are ensuring safety and competitiveness in the medical device market through digitization and regulatory adherence.
