Use Cases of RPM Defined (3): Chronic conditions that require incremental changes over time
Welcome to the newest post in our series covering use cases for remote patient monitoring (RPM). Previously we discussed use case 2 in reference to acute case management.
This post covers Use Case 3: Chronic Conditions that Require Incremental Changes Over Time.
Remote monitoring can be a critical component of the long game in medical management. Some issues are best managed over time, with incremental changes, and are becoming part of what will be important components of a new vision for home care. Slower changes can be encountered or necessary because acute improvement is limited by biology or because it is safer, easier, or more reliable for these changes to happen over extended periods of time.
Examples of two conditions best managed over time are obesity and stroke rehabilitation.
Obesity is an epidemic in the US and elsewhere. Management strategies vary, but some of the most successful strategies involve efforts to create sustainable, long-term behavioral modification. Remote patient monitoring can optimize these efforts more effectively than platforms focusing strictly on diet and exercise. By taking the whole person into account and customizing recommendations as needed, chances of success are oftentimes improved and the journey more fulfilling.
Versatile, immediate, and consistent positive reinforcement through digital communication tools while monitoring activity, weight, and other biometrics can be a powerful combination.
The potential to combine the management of as many of an end user's needs into a single platform cannot be overemphasized. For example, bringing in management of a patient’s other conditions and medications into a single platform can give the patient a vital sense of connectedness in and within their management.
RPM platforms with the potential for personalized rewards have distinct advantages in these cases.
Peripheral monitoring devices with enhanced ease of use are being developed by the day and most are being designed to easily integrate with larger platforms that facilitate whole person management.
Rehabilitation after strokes or other injuries is another area that can require management and encouragement of incremental changes that can be made in the home and monitored remotely.
RPM can be an optimal method of giving users insight into those incremental changes in movement, stamina, and flexibility, facilitating the design and attainment of realistic and useful goals.
RPM platforms with multiple methods of communication can foster the relationships between patients, family members, and clinicians that bolster support for health improvement during these difficult and frustrating periods.
End users will cross many barriers in their lives, some acute, some chronic. RPM is a platform that when optimally deployed, can meet these multiple challenges.
Please check back for our next post in this series, use case 4.
Kimberly Gandy, Jos Domen, Mary Topping
Kimberly Gandy, MD, PhD is a Northwestern/Stanford/Duke-trained physician-scientist with over 25 years of experience at the intersection of science, medicine, and technology.
Jos Domen, PhD is a University of Amsterdam and Stanford-trained cell biologist and immunologist who has run laboratories at Duke and elsewhere and has published extensively in the scientific literature.
Mary Topping, MBA has 15 years of operational and strategic experience in payer and provider settings, including Kaiser Permanente. She’s designed and implemented Medicare insurance products, improved revenue cycle processes, built business cases, and facilitated team innovation in care delivery.
This is the fourth in our series of articles on the Use Cases of RPM. Please take a look and join in the discussion around this emerging field. hashtag#RPM hashtag#Remotepatientmonitoring hashtag#virtualcare hashtag#homecareservices hashtag#homecare