According to a survey on Medical Economics, more than 55% of healthcare providers say that they are either planning to or already use remote patient monitoring (RPM), with 35% even saying they believe it will surpass in-patient monitoring in the next five years.
That said, 65% in the medical field believe that the key to more successful mainstream RPM is electronic health record integration — specifically, in the realm of 24-hour remote data collection and dissemination.
What Role Does Apple Health and Automated Exportation Play?
Two such tools that can significantly streamline and enhance RPM are Apple Health and Health Auto Export. In recent years, Apple Health has seen a rise in popularity, given its accessibility and accuracy in noting a person’s vitals. Just this year, given the aforementioned demand for RPM-supporting devices, Apple introduced new features specifically for eldercare. This includes recording walking steadiness and direct unified access to their health metrics on one platform. In fact, since 2019, several Medicare Advantage providers like Devoted Health have included Apple Watches in their coverage plans.
Meanwhile, to ensure that this collated health data is protected and delivered to senior healthcare teams regularly, the Health Auto App syncs and backs up all Apple Health data. Together, this creates a secure cycle of data collection, encryption, and dissemination, to create a vivid picture of a patient’s well-being remotely.
Advantages of Health Exports and Other Remote Tools
However, since using these remote health monitoring tools is still relatively new to mainstream healthcare, it’s still important to highlight their advantages for seniors unfamiliar with digitalization.
Complete and accurate data becomes accessible
The main goal for remote patient monitoring is to be able to create a secure and accurate record of a patient’s medical history, current condition, and ongoing progress. Using Health Auto Export, patients can automatically backup their health data onto the iCloud, and sync their Apple Health data to multiple iOS devices (e.g. Macs, iPads, iPhones). This ensures that there are no mix-ups with incorrect, missing, or even outdated patient information. That said, having medical data automatically uploaded and updated resolves the costly concerns around “dirty” patient data. This can cost providers up to $40 million in redundancies, and denied patient claims that can total to about $4.9 million.
Care plan creation and optimization becomes easier
When managing symptoms and optimizing care plans, physicians need easy access to patient data. This includes being alert to any important changes that may need immediate action. KelseyCare Advantage explains that since most senior health plans require the comprehensive action of several specialists under Medicare Traditional Plans and Advantage Plans, having a dedicated and concise platform makes it easier to share data. For instance, while Vision Services under Medicare Advantage can help seniors connect with an optometrist for diagnoses, they may require surgical treatments from an ophthalmologist. Therefore, for patients to fast-track their eligibility for these treatments, they can easily send over their complete medical data via remote health applications for the assessment of any health experts.
Continuity of care and patient outcomes improve
Health Tech reports that clinicians believe RPM can lead to better clinical outcomes, including lowered healthcare costs, sustained and adjustable care programs, and improved patient confidence. What’s more, according to a study on Springer regarding the elderly using wearable sensors for remote monitoring, it’s revealed that even the issue of bed blocking — which is where a patient who’s ready to be medically discharged has to extend their stay due to inadequate care and rehab outside of hospitals — can be relieved. This lessens the burnout of medical workers and the fees incurred in-hospital by patients.
Overall, automation and data exportation have proven to be massive innovations for seniors, homebound patients, and telehealth. With further adoption and increased education, we can expect an even smoother integration and a more accessible healthcare environment for patients across the globe.