Technological advancements have already changed a lot in healthcare. Better healthcare contributes to people living longer. However the longer the life span, the more health issues arise. Treating these proliferating issues along with chronic disease management is becoming a burden for healthcare providers. To alleviate the burden digital solutions for healthcare automation are created. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems are a group of such digital technologies that can hugely Impact the way healthcare is delivered, how much it costs for both patients and healthcare providers, and how the former and the latter benefit from it. {{ "title": "Write ChilliCode", "description": "To help you acknowledge your business needs and decide whether IT services will work for you, I’ve sorted out a list of cases.", "buttonText": "Contact us" }} At the beginning of 2024 mHealthIntelligence reported that ‘One of RPM's most impactful use cases is in chronic disease management. According to a May 2023 survey, healthcare organizations primarily deploy RPM programs for chronic disease populations, including those with hypertension (26%), diabetes (25%), and heart conditions (20%). 94% of 141 healthcare executives said that RPM programs have improved patient outcomes, and 73% said they have yielded a positive return on investment (ROI). Development and implementation of monitoring software is complex as it integrates several elements to allow healthcare providers to always be in the know about their patients’ vitals even outside traditional healthcare institutions by getting real-time medical information from a network of sensor-rich gadgets. These monitoring devices record different kinds of medical metrics – body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose and oxygen levels, depression, and mood monitoring. Such non-invasive (wireless) medical devices can be issued by healthcare providers – for example, electrocardiographs, cardiac monitors and apnea ones, electroencephalogram headbands, spirometers, oximeters, audiometers, digestive system sensors or owned by patients – like electronic thermometers, weight scales, fitness trackers, and blood pressure monitors. These gadgets, wearable or implantable, are integrated into remote patient monitoring systems. They wirelessly transmit the collected information to a centralized storage. All data should be thoroughly analyzed with dedicated software and securely stored for use in personal electronic medical records (EMR)/ electronic health records (EHR) – an RPM software interface for practitioners or a hospital-facing application. With the needed information at hand, physicians can adjust the treatment plan by contacting patients virtually and coordinating therapy with other members of the care team. This reduces to a minimum number of emergency room visits, in-patient rate, and manual input of patient data saving healthcare providers time and money. Remote patient monitoring solutions can analyze and report data – comparing patient vitals to predetermined reference benchmarks, finding patterns in symptoms and sending notifications of abnormal or fluctuating vitals to give priority care to the most urgent conditions, creating reports about events and trends. If healthcare providers and patients have access to health data properly analyzed and presented in a user-friendly form for timely intervention by care teams and self-management, remote patient monitoring solutions enhance patient outcomes. Such an RPM system can become life-saving for those who live far from hospitals, for low mobility patients, and those with chronic diseases. So apart from medical devices, the main components of a remote health monitoring system are patient data storage (in it, telehealth data and one from analytical systems are also gathered), data analysis program, EMR/EHR, and RMP application or patient-facing web portal. Advantages Remote Patient Monitoring System Brings For patients, there are obvious advantages in using RMP solutions. Timely detection of potential health problems With a remote patient monitoring platform physicians can detect and prevent health issues early. Greater healthcare accessibility RPM solutions minimize the need for patients to travel to a medical facility by enabling them to receive care wherever they are – at home, work, place of learning, etc. This is particularly beneficial for patients who have difficulty commuting, and ones staying in assisted living facilities or retirement homes. Personalization One of the most important benefits of remote patient monitoring systems is personalization. The collected patient data is invaluable for getting the big picture of the person’s entire health history, medical contraindications, and current health condition. This is important to properly diagnose the patient, make informed clinical decisions, identify abnormalities, alert practitioners to emergencies, notify patients to take medicine and/or change type of physical activity, and prevent harmful drug interactions. RPMs also bring advantages to healthcare providers. Improved Patient Outcomes Any remote patient monitoring system is created with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. The more personalized and accurate treatment plans the RPM solution provides, the better patient outcome becomes. RMP Systems Save Cost and Increase Care Team Efficiency With a trove of patient data to make decisions, optimized workflow of practitioners, and decreased number of appointments, hospitalizations, and readmissions, RPM platforms reduce healthcare providers’ operational costs. There are findings stating that ‘solutions can reduce hospitalizations by as much as 40 percent for some diseases, and realize annual savings of $6,500 per patient. Overall, it’s estimated that widespread adoption of remote patient monitoring could save the U.S. as much as $6 billion annually. By using monitoring software, patients save money too as their care plan can be constantly refined, potentially avoiding unnecessary procedures and reducing medication expenses. Data Accessibility and Feature-rich Software Apart from connecting monitoring devices, analyzing and collecting data, RPM platforms include telehealth applications for patient-doctor communication via video and audio calls, instant messages, chatbots for non-urgent consultations, instruction on how to prepare for upcoming tests, as well as billing information for reimbursable RPM solutions. Such a platform can offer an appointment scheduling tool to further help manage healthcare professionals’ workflow optimizing the appointment schedule and reducing the no-show rate. A remote patient monitoring application may contain educational materials for post-operative patients, ones with chronic conditions and caregivers. Driving Patient Engagement and Self-Management Remote patient monitoring devices integrated into RPM solutions provide crucial information engaging patients in keeping tabs on their state of health. By following the doctor's advice patients learn more about how to control and manage their vital health metrics which improves their general well-being, overall health, and life quality. If multiple ways to contact practitioners 24/7 are included in a remote patient monitoring system it will further boost patient engagement. Improved Chronic Disease Management and Prevention The easier it is for patients to check their vitals – blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, glucose, and oxygen levels, the more likely it is that they will do it regularly. For some patients, this will probably prevent the onset of chronic conditions. Protecting Patients from Contractible Diseases An opportunity to monitor health conditions remotely is especially important for vulnerable and frail elderly patients to prevent contracting acute respiratory infections and other contractible diseases during seasonal outbreaks and pandemics such as COVID-19. According to mHealthIntelligence ‘As virtual care use skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, RPM programs grew popular. Data from Definitive Healthcare shows that RPM claim volume in the United States spiked 1,294 percent from January 2019 to November 2022. Opportunities for Advertising RPM mobile app development is quite promising for promoting the services of healthcare providers. In the remote patient monitoring app, it is easy to raise a patient's knowledge about a doctor. Patient-facing medical applications can promote certain services tailored to each user's needs. Applications to Monitor Patients Remotely There are multiple types of applications to include in an RPM system. IoT Applications In an IoT/ IoMT application, all information from wearable or implantable medical devices is concentrated and presented in a form most useful for medical professionals. Remote Patient Monitoring Application for Video Conferencing An app for teleconferences is part of the software for remote patient-doctor communication that is valued more than other interaction means like audio connection, instant messaging and file exchange. Video conferencing is indispensable for high-quality RPM systems as teleconferencing eliminates the need for travel to examinations, and allows to recommend or adjust necessary treatment and prescribe medication. Developing video conference software is complex, but this app is a prized part of remote patient monitoring solutions. Questionnaire Application Add a questionnaire app to your RPM system. This simple way of patient engagement can be effective in tracking mental health, depression, and stress levels, for example. However, questionnaire data accuracy depends a lot on how thoroughly the questionnaire is filled out which is not always possible to control. Precision medicine solution This type of remote patient monitoring app is used for research. In essence, they anonymize participants' health data and represent it in an analytical report. Best Practices to Follow When Developing Remote Patient Monitoring App Right now there are plenty of competing RPM systems to enumerate best practices to stick to when developing remote patient monitoring solutions. Interoperability Interoperability is not just a best practice, but a requirement. As remote patient monitoring solutions integrate multiple monitoring devices with existing or brand-new EMR/EHR systems and other software, interoperability is crucial for constant and secure data exchange. A clear plan on how to enable interoperability for all components of monitoring software according to country-specific regulations should be included in the development process. Intuitive UI An RPM application provides visualization of medical metrics, vital for the app end-users. To engage patients make sure the patient app they use visualizes health data in a way that is easy to interpret for any person whether tech-savvy or not. Many patients using an RPM app will be elderly, some with vision or hearing impairments so the ability to get information from monitoring devices and see doctors’ recommendations should correspond with patients’ physical capabilities. Make sure the user interface is patient-friendly and intuitive and has just the right fonts in the right size. Voice search will be helpful for those users of the remote patient monitoring app for whom it is difficult or impossible to type and for those whose health state is deteriorating rapidly and who just have no time for typing. So the feature is in demand now. Also, text-to-speech and voice-guided control options for individuals with visual impairments, and movement dysfunctions are features that make RPM apps much more accessible. Battery Optimization If an RPM mobile app is not optimized for efficient energy consumption there may be a lapse in data collection leading to potentially grave results when healthcare professionals miss severe fluctuations in patients’ condition. Include a requirement for battery optimization in the app development. Use of Caching There is no way of knowing how steady an internet connection is for every patient with an RPM app during different times of the day. To ensure information from medical devices is not lost in case of an unreliable network connection, ask app developers to think through a caching mechanism so as not to lose any health data. Caching allows storing the collected medical information and transmitting it to the data storage when access to the internet is restored. It is of course necessary to notify users of the remote patient monitoring app every time an internet connection is lost. Location Tracking When patients need urgent medical help it is extremely important to know exactly where the patients are, so location tracking should be a feature of your RPM application. Besides geolocation can help patients identify the nearest medical institution. Data Security and Regulation Compliance Healthcare providers know well how sensitive the patient data they handle is. Every element of remote patient monitoring solutions should be subject to the most robust cybersecurity as so much private information is collected and stored in RPM systems. Best practices in data security: · Role-based access control (for admins, patients, and practitioners): Only authorized care team members should have access to patient data. · Encryption: Any data transferred between devices needs to be encrypted to prevent unwanted access. In the US, the regulation mandates encryption of Protected Health Information (PHI) and recordings of telemedicine appointments. · Risk assessment: To identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities, risk assessments must be carried out regularly. · Data backup: Frequent data backups should be kept to prevent health data loss in the event of a system breakdown. · Multi-factor authentication: Robust authentication measures, such as two-factor authentication and passwords, are necessary to thwart unauthorized access. · Data retention: Procedures for the storage and destruction of patient data should be developed to ensure compliance with privacy regulations. · Regular update: RPM software should be updated with the most recent security patches and updates to offer defense against new threats. These data security measures will prevent unauthorized access incidents, data leaks, and loss of information. So implement the enumerated safety measures during the development process to make sure your RPM software has top-notch protection. Otherwise, remote patient monitoring systems will not comply with such regulations as HIPAA in the US, and GDPR in the EU. Any security breaches will be very damaging for patients as well as healthcare providers. Security incidents violating the regulation will bring about fines amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. Scalability RPM solutions should be scalable to accommodate as many patients as you need. Scalability enables the remote patient monitoring platform to smoothly adjust to an increasing number of patients under observation and evolving medical requirements. Health Data History Getting the full picture with current medical information as well as the entire health data history helps monitor treatment progress and understand how the patient’s well-being depends on such factors as work, rest and sleep schedules, physical activity, weather, eating habits, etc. Web or Mobile Application? Both versions are usually needed as patients mostly prefer accessing the remote patient monitoring app on their smartphones and tablets. Care teams are more likely to work with RPM information on computers in office settings. Steps on the Way to Monitoring Software Development Step One: Research Before creating a remote patient monitoring product conduct research and consider the following: · What is your target audience among groups of patients and physicians? · What are their demands? Will it be possible to meet them? · What established remote patient RPM software do you find the best? How much should your monitoring software be different from competitors’? · What will make them attractive to various target audiences? · What regulation compliance will be needed? · What elements will constitute the core of an RPM system? What elements would you find practical extras? · Specify the design of your remote patient monitoring platform. · Specify the tech stack – a combination of software, programming languages, frameworks, and storage technologies that developers can use to build and run a mobile or web application. To avoid budget overruns, launch delays, and glitch-filled software find answers to these questions and devise a plan. Step Two: Choosing a Model for Interaction with IT Before you implement the plan, select an IT engagement model, taking into account your internal knowledge and the project's objectives. The following are the most widely used forms of collaboration with software developers: In-house: You can employ a development team full-time exerting full control over developers’ work. This is probably the best engagement model if your company has experience in software creation. To enhance the in-house team, use out-staff developers to help your employees finish the project. Special development team: You collaborate on the project with a vendor who dedicates a team to create the software. Tech Partner: In addition to taking over the creation of software, the tech partner thoroughly assesses healthcare providers’ needs, objectives, and existing situations before providing the best possible solution. For businesses that lack experience in software development and would prefer a vendor to take on the job of a CTO, this collaboration model is an excellent option. Step Three: Minimum Viable Product However extensive your research has been, real life may prove some of your findings wrong. To learn what pieces of software work as planned, a minimum viable product (MVP) is developed to serve as a prototype. An MVP is ‘an early, basic version of a product (typically a computer program or piece of technology) that meets the minimum requirements for use but can be adapted and improved in the future, especially after customer feedback. Upon getting the feedback, you and the development team will be able to create a more precise schedule, and a job-to-do list, and allocate the necessary budget. Step Four: Software Creation Plan the software development process carefully once you have the schedule and list of requirements. Effective project management can assist you in avoiding numerous obstacles that may occur during the process. At this point, it is critical to routinely check in with the developers, talk about any problems and potential changes, and make sure that everyone is meeting deadlines. Step Five: Software Testing A crucial step in any development process is testing. It is more beneficial to release a quality project than to address problems based on feedback from users. Since RPM apps are going to be used on a variety of devices and systems, it is obvious that you cannot test everything. Even so, you should be able to resolve the main issue and appease the majority of users. Step Six: Continuous Enhancements Upon implementation, the software requires regular upgrades and ongoing enhancements, particularly in the area of data security. Rapid technological advancement means that additional RPM features will undoubtedly be added. To promptly adapt to the always-evolving needs of users, be sure to keep an eye on industry trends. The development team should also consider the system's adaptability and flexibility when developing a remote patient monitoring app. In certain cases, the load is continuous all day. Others can be subject to erratic and varying loads. This may occur if a patient wears a linked device just part of the time or if certain metrics are not regularly recorded. It is difficult to forecast when the system will achieve its maximum load under these circumstances. Having powerful servers is one approach to address this, but they are quite costly. Consequently, adjusting to the load is a more long-term fix. The developers’ job is to make s RPM systems self-adjacent so they can withstand erratic demands. Cost of Remote Patient Monitoring Software Development The model you choose to collaborate with the development team, its location and experience, the features and functionalities of the RPM software, deadlines, regulation compliance requirements, and how sophisticated the planned apps should be all affect how much creation of monitoring software will cost. Depending on the features and functions provided, the cost of building an RPM solution could range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Although this cost estimate might serve as a general reference, it is important to keep in mind that the real cost will vary significantly based on the particular demands and specifications of the project. Contact Chillicode for accurate product engineering quotes, our team will offer you precise pricing. Maintenance Cost of Remote Patient Monitoring Solutions Complex systems need maintenance which requires resources. Numerous variables, including software complexity, the anticipated expansion of the patient base, necessary upgrades, and infrastructure expenditures, affect the cost of sustaining custom RPM software. Every year, you should budget between 15% and 20% of the initial development cost. For example, if the development of your RPM system costs seventy-five thousand dollars the annual maintenance should cost between eleven thousand two hundred and fifty dollars and fifteen thousand dollars. CHILLICODE as a Tech Partner CHILLICODE has extensive experience in application development with 350 successful projects, among which there is RPM software. sub The Difference Remote Patient Monitoring Software Development Makes To conclude, it is enough to say remote patient monitoring solutions are a significant advancement in providing patients with high-quality, cost-effective treatment that is accessible to a broad audience. For some patients and physicians RPM solutions may revolutionize the delivery of healthcare if monitoring software is developed with the goal of improving patient outcomes in mind. The technique saves a great deal of money and time that would otherwise be spent on hospital monitoring or transportation for patients.
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