Medicare's (Small) Step To Encourage Remote Monitoring For Seniors Living At Home

What of the monitors that do track medical vital signs? Do they improve patient outcomes or save money by reducing emergency room visits or allowing people to remain at home? The jury is still out, which may be why CMS is acting so cautiously.

 Patients Are Now Consumers, But Is Health Care Ready?

Of all industries, it’s the biggest laggard in bringing technology to consumers, but it’s also the industry where there is the most at stake to that individual consumer (the patient). There’s nothing more personal than health care. So why is it so far behind?

 The Future of Medicine: Remote Patient Monitoring

One of the most exciting aspects of 21st-century medicine is the use of new technologies to move patients away from hospitals, urgent care centers, and the doctors’ offices and treat them at home – or wherever they happen to be. Some visionaries refer to this as “medicine without walls,” or telemedicine. An increasingly powerful aspect of telemedicine is the use of portable, high-tech devices to track and relay to your doctor everything from your glucose levels, if you have diabetes, to your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels, if you are at risk of a stroke or heart attack.

The Future Of Health Care Is In Data Analytics

Every minute of the day, eCare21, a remote patient-monitoring system, collects thousands of pieces of health data about more than 1,000 senior citizens. The telehealth system uses smartphones, Fitbits, Bluetooth and sensors to collect information about things like blood pressure, physical activity, glucose levels, medication intake and weight.

Cutting Through The Remote Patient Monitoring Hype

Sotera Wireless ViSi Mobile System Sometimes it’s difficult to separate hyperbole from reality when it comes to remote patient monitoring (RPM) and its potential impact on healthcare.

How Big Data Could Help Prevent Fatal Heart Attacks

With the emergence of a miniaturized single lead ECG sensor like the technology developed by LifeWatch, the traditional patient monitoring industry is being forced to pivot 180 degrees to meet demand from consumers and investors alike to provide remote continuous cardiac patient monitoring services.

How close are we to a real Star Trek-style medical tricorder?

We may not have a tricorder in our hands yet, but we are definitely getting closer.

Patient Monitoring, Big Data, and the Future of Healthcare

If the proper protections can be put in place, the potential upside of patient monitoring far outweighs the potential downside.

Remote Patient Monitoring Lets Doctors Spot Trouble Early

Such a merging of wireless technology and medical care is still in its infancy, but health systems that began pilot programs with the technology in recent years say they see signs that it is keeping patients healthier. By enabling doctors to continuously monitor patients, they say, the systems can detect problems well before they grow serious.

The Doctor Is Out, but New Patient Monitoring and Robotics Technology Is In

New technology like smart pills, a wireless heart monitor and a robotic surgical assistant could radically reshape patient care.

The Heart of the Matter

I can’t access the data generated by my implanted defibrillator. That’s absurd.

The Hype of Virtual Medicine

High-tech health care hasn’t proved effective at changing patients’ bad habits.

The Value of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Physicians’ Perspectives

Confirming earlier studies6, the CONNECT (Clinical Evaluation of Remote Notification to Reduce Time to Clinical Decision) trial in 2010 demonstrated that wireless remote monitoring allowed clinicians to make treatment decisions 17.4 days sooner than with in-office visits alone.

What does the future of remote patient monitoring look like?

For chronic conditions like heart failure, atrial fibrillation and diabetes, the ability to monitor the patient’s condition remotely not only enhances the quality of care, it also improves clinical efficiency. And, it can substantially reduce healthcare costs.