It is estimated that more than 40% of Americans suffer from at least one chronic disease. Many of them even suffer from more than one. Furthermore, experts estimate that the cost of chronic diseases, including the healthcare cost and the loss in economic productivity, to be approximately $3.7 trillion each year. Specialists in public health concur that this is a genuine healthcare crisis in the country.

Chronic diseases, unlike other types of diseases, require continued care and treatment. Some of the most common chronic conditions include diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. These are also the ones that cause the most fatalities in the country. In light of this, remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions are touted as a promising way to address the problem of chronic disease care in the United States.

As the name suggests, a remote healthcare monitoring system allows providers to monitor patient health outside clinical settings. This technology could be a potential game-changer for people who need regular attention from physicians. The growth and proliferation of wearable medical technology have also given a significant impetus to remote health care monitoring. Gadgets like Apple watches, glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and activity trackers are some of the most popular devices recommended by doctors and used by patients.

RPM For Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most common and fastest-growing chronic diseases in the country. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it and it needs to be managed constantly. That means the patient has to make changes to his or her lifestyle and have regular consultations with their doctor. Additionally, diabetes also needs to be tracked closely to verify if the changes to the patient’s diet, lifestyle, and medication are actually effective. That can be accomplished efficiently with a remote medical monitoring system composed of devices similar to the ones mentioned above.

Devices like Apple’s smartwatch and remote glucose meters track patient vitals in real-time. This means that they can capture data about a patient’s health in real-time and send it to the physician immediately. This doctor, in turn, would be able to observe the health markers and know if the patient’s condition is improving or deteriorating. In this way, a single doctor can monitor and track the health vitals of multiple patients using a remote health monitoring application. This would be especially beneficial for patients in rural locations who lack access to specialist care.

Monitoring of health vitals, along with the levels of physical activity goes a long way in enabling doctors and patients to manage diabetes care better.





RPM For Heart Disease

Over 16 million Americans suffer from heart disease. But remote monitoring systems in healthcare can help doctors mitigate the problem and even identify early signs. Wearable RPM devices monitor a user’s heart rate and electrocardiogram on a regular basis. Analyzing this data is known to help identify if a person is at risk of contracting heart disease. Medical monitoring systems enable reliable capture of health data, which when used with data analytics helps providers take a preventive approach to care by recognizing early signs of impending disease.

A single doctor would be able to handle multiple patients without in-person clinical visits. This could be one of the most effective ways to combat heart disease. The best part - people from rural locations won’t have to travel as often to receive quality care.


Conclusion

In this way, a remote monitoring system in healthcare could prove to be a useful tool to address the worsening chronic disease epidemic in the country.


Source:

https://www.osplabs.com/remote-patient-monitoring-system/