September 16, 2020 -
Remote Patient Monitoring - RPM has a positive impact on COVID-19 patients, chronic disease management, wellness, education and post-acute care. How the web-based collaboration software Case.io is used here.
Telemedicine is a sub-area of telematics in the health care system and refers to diagnostics and therapy that bridge a distance in space or time between doctor, therapist, pharmacist and patient or between two consulting doctors by means of telecommunications. (Source: Wikipedia)
Video consultations are used in telemedicine when it is not possible for the patient to come to the doctor's office. A video consultation takes place at the computer. Both sides have a camera and a microphone. During a video consultation, doctor and patient see each other and talk about the patient's health - similar to an appointment with a doctor.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is another area of telemedicine. When RPM is used, physiological data (heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, body and skin temperature, etc.) are recorded and stored in a database. This data can be retrieved and displayed at any time. They provide the physician with insight into the patients' lives outside of doctor's visits and outside of a video consultation and enable the physician to remotely check and manage the patient's condition. RPM is used for patients who are in need of digital monitoring and management.
Devices from various manufacturers are available for the acquisition of physiological data. A database and presentation solution for physiological data is Case.io (www.case.io) - a web-based, collaborative software for the health sector. Case.io serves as an online patient file and is used worldwide to make patient data (text, images, videos) available quickly and securely across borders. Case.io ist a product of Klughammer GmbH, Germany.
By combining a video consultation with RPM, remote care is data-driven so that patients with higher risk can be prioritized as needed. Statistics show that 80% of a doctor's visit is spent on collecting vital signs data, which can be collected more efficiently by using RPM. This represents a time optimization for both patient and physician.
RPM will have large scale impact on COVID-19 patients, chronic disease management, wellness, education and post-acute care.
