Introduction

Have you heard? There’s a service helping revolutionize the way preventive healthcare is delivered in the United States. Clinicians who embrace remote patient monitoring (RPM) and launch RPM programs can position themselves to not only deliver more effective care but also reap significant financial benefits.

Remote patient monitoring, also referred to as remote physiologic monitoring, is the use of digital technologies to monitor and capture medical and other health data from patients and electronically transmit this information to healthcare providers for assessment and, when necessary, recommendations and instructions. The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) notes that RPM programs “… can also help keep people healthy, allow older and disabled individuals to live at home longer and avoid having to move into skilled nursing facilities. RPM can also serve to reduce the number of hospitalizations, readmissions, and lengths of stay in hospital — all of which help improve quality of life and contain costs.”

Remote patient monitoring was already gaining popularity before the COVID-19 health crisis. This can be attributed, in part, to the 2020 changes to CPT codes that propelled RPM into the spotlight as one of the most lucrative Medicare care management programs as well as providers increasingly embracing technology to support the health and wellness of their patients. When the pandemic hit, the value of providing remote patient monitoring services to patients who were expected to reduce travel and direct contact with others became even more apparent. The federal government recognized this as well, which is why it expanded Medicare coverage of RPM services from just those with chronic conditions to those
with chronic and/or acute conditions, among other changes that supported the increased use of RPM.

If we can begin to get a handle on the ever-growing costs associated with treating chronic health conditions, our healthcare system can then turn more of its attention to prevention. Industry leaders are fully aware that one of the most effective ways to drive down the cost of healthcare and improve patient wellbeing is through effective prevention, but it’s hard to focus on this when so many Americans are already in the grip of chronic disease. With remote physiologic monitoring, access to care is greatly expanded and changes in health status can be addressed quickly to avoid crisis. This could translate to
substantial annual savings thanks to reduced emergency room visits and hospital admissions and readmissions.

Drawing attention to these benefits — and many others — is one of reasons why we have created this comprehensive guide for any organization thinking about investing in a remote patient monitoring system (i.e., software, such as Prevounce RPM, and connected patient devices). There are many important considerations to understand, and we’ve covered them all for you.