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Five ways to overcome the challenges associated with Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
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Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) continues to revolutionize the healthcare industry by enabling remote patient care and reducing the frequency of visits and hospitalizations1. However, implementing RPM services can come with its own set of challenges.
Let’s explore these obstacles and solutions to overcome them to help ensure successful RPM adoption.
1. Data security and privacy concerns
Healthcare data is highly sensitive, and ensuring its security is paramount. The integration of remote patient monitoring systems necessitates stringent security protocols to protect patient information from breaches and unauthorized access.
Solution
- Adopt robust security measures2: Utilize encryption, secure data storage, and multi-factor authentication to safeguard patient data.
- Comply with regulations: Ensure healthcare organizations and RPM systems are following regulations, such as a HIPAA compliance program3, to maintain data integrity and confidentiality.
- Audit and update regularly: Conduct regular security audits and update software4 to address vulnerabilities promptly.
2. Integration with existing systems
Integrating RPM solutions with existing electronic health records (EHR) and other healthcare systems can present challenges. Disparate systems can lead to data silos, making it difficult to provide a unified patient view5.
Solution
- Interoperability standards: Adopt interoperability standards to facilitate seamless data exchange between systems, ensuring validated data is transmitted in a user-friendly and information secure environment6.
- API integration: Utilize APIs to enable communication between RPM devices and EHR systems to ensure data flow, as failure to do so may inappropriately alert a clinician, which can lead to inappropriate care and alert fatigue7.
- Vendor collaboration: Work closely with RPM and EHR vendors to ensure compatibility and smooth integration.
3. Patient and provider adoption
For RPM to be effective, both patients and healthcare providers must be willing to adopt the technology. Resistance to change, lack of technical skills, and concerns about technology reliability can hinder adoption.
Solution
- Education and training: Provide comprehensive training for both patients and healthcare providers to familiarize them with RPM technology.
- User-friendly interfaces: Design remote patient monitoring systems with intuitive interfaces to make them accessible to users with varying technical abilities.
- Demonstrate value: Highlight the benefits of remote patient monitoring, such as improved patient health outcomes and quality of life8, to encourage adoption.
4. Cost and reimbursement issues
The cost of implementing RPM solutions can be a significant barrier. Additionally, reimbursement policies for RPM services are still evolving, creating uncertainty for healthcare providers.
Solution
- Cost-benefit analysis: Conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis to demonstrate the cost savings associated with RPM for patients and healthcare providers alike9.
- Explore funding options: Look for grants, subsidies, and partnerships to offset initial implementation costs. Additionally, check if the RPM solutions offer integrated billing opportunities and tracking of potential patient reimbursement options.
- Advocate for policy changes: Engage with policymakers to advocate for clearer and more comprehensive reimbursement policies for RPM services.
5. Technical challenges and reliability
Remote patient monitoring systems rely on various technologies such as IoT devices, cloud computing, and mobile applications. Ensuring the reliability and accuracy of these technologies is important for effective patient monitoring.
Solution
- Robust testing and validation: Conduct extensive testing of RPM devices and software to ensure their reliability and accuracy.
- Monitoring and support: Implement active monitoring systems to detect and address technical issues promptly.
- Scalability and redundancy: Ensure RPM systems are scalable and include redundancy features to handle increased loads and minimize downtime.
Overcoming the challenges associated with RPM requires a multifaceted approach that addresses data security, systems integration, user adoption, costs, and technical reliability. Doing so will help ensure the needs of all stakeholders are identified and aligned, enabling healthcare providers to better integrate a usable RPM program into their practices10.
Vivify Health is a remote patient monitoring company that offers a powerful RPM software solution with integrated third-party biometric devices designed to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your disease management and post-acute care programs.
- Scott, J. (2021, June 17). The Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring Are Wide Ranging. HealthTech. https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2021/06/benefits-remote-patient-monitoring-are-wide-ranging-perfcon
- Hirschhorn, M. (2023, October 2). How to Overcome the 5 Key Challenges in Remote Patient Monitoring. Medium. https://markhirschhorn.medium.com/how-to-overcome-the-5-key-challenges-in-remote-patient-monitoring-bff160eb38fa
- Compliancy Group (2023, April 26). Medical Device HIPAA Compliance: Sharing Patient Information. https://compliancy-group.com/medical-device-hipaa-compliance-sharing-patient-information/
- Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. (2024, March 5). Remote Patient Monitoring Systems Are a Possible Attack Vector. https://www.himss.org/node/293238
- Hirschhorn, M. (2023, October 2). How to Overcome the 5 Key Challenges in Remote Patient Monitoring. Medium. https://markhirschhorn.medium.com/how-to-overcome-the-5-key-challenges-in-remote-patient-monitoring-bff160eb38fa
- Lawrence, K., Singh, N., Jonassen, Z., Groom, L., Arias, V., Mandal, S., Schoenthaler, A., Mann, D., Nov, O., and Dove, G. (2023, July 27). Operational Implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring Within a Large Ambulatory Health System: Multimethod Qualitative Case Study. National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10415949/
- Lobach, D., Boxwala, A., Kashyap, N., Heaney-Huls, K., Chiao, A., Rafter, T., Lomotan, E., Harrison, M., Dymek, C., Swiger, J., and Dullabh, P. (2022, December 14). Integrating a Patient Engagement App into an Electronic Health Record-Enabled Workflow Using Interoperability Standards. National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9750793/
- Scott, J. (2021, June 17). The Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring Are Wide Ranging. HealthTech. https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2021/06/benefits-remote-patient-monitoring-are-wide-ranging-perfcon
- Strategic Market Research. (2023, July). Global Remote Patient Monitoring Statistics 2023 – Facts & Figures. https://www.strategicmarketresearch.com/blogs/remote-patient-monitoring-statistics
- Lawrence, K., Singh, N., Jonassen, Z., Groom, L., Arias, V., Mandal, S., Schoenthaler, A., Mann, D., Nov, O., and Dove, G. (2023, July 27). Operational Implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring Within a Large Ambulatory Health System: Multimethod Qualitative Case Study. National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10415949/
