Adopting Remote Patient Monitoring to Improve Care, Reduce Burnout

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) can allow providers to measure patients’ health, conduct outreach, and offer recommendations in real time.

In this interview with Integrated Healthcare Executive, Eric Navarette, practice manager at a medical facility in Texas, shares how adopting an RPM solution called 100Plus alleviated administrative burden and improved patient outcomes over the course of 1 year.

What inspired your organization to adopt an RPM solution?

The primary reason was our full schedule, and the inability to see our patients as often as we would love to. Patients had to wait a few days, sometimes weeks, to be seen by a provider.

Adopting an RPM solution allowed us to keep track of our patients’ blood pressure, glucose, and weight. Instead of waiting for patients to call in for an appointment, this solution allowed us to be proactive. We could capture those health metrics, reach out to the patient, and say, "Hey, we noticed your readings are a little high or a little low. What's going on?"

We could check in with them and get them into the office, or, if it came to it, we could direct patients to urgent care.

How has adopting an RPM solution impacted outcomes?

We had a lot of positive feedback from our patients. We already had a close relationship with our patients, but this solution emphasizes that connection. We are on the outside looking in, as well as the inside looking out.

Patients know we are monitoring their health. Patients know if they do not do their part as far as compliance, then it is hard for us to do our part to help them. RPM encourages patients to continue using medical devices and adhering to the treatment plan.

How has this solution impacted the providers in your practice?

The RPM solution has streamlined tasks and improved the ability to capture patient health metrics. Our medical assistants and providers both have access to the portal. They can log in and see how patients are doing. This allows the provider to see where patients are and determine whether they need to adjust the treatment plan.

This solution also helped our staff reduce call volume. In the clinic, we are running nonstop throughout the day. RPM puts the ball in our court, so to speak, to reach out to patients when it is convenient rather than wait for patients to call in, which can result in an abundance of calls or voicemails.

Where do you see the future headed if more health systems and providers adopt RPM solutions?

The RPM solution allows us to streamline services and keep tabs on our patients. The technology is already there, and I think it is going to improve. From when we started the program to today, we have seen a decrease in repeat servicing and readmission rates. It has been helpful for keeping patients as healthy as possible.

Is there anything else you would like to add today?

100Plus has been a pleasure to work with. They are available anytime and have been helpful along the way to train staff and make sure our patients are properly educated. When we enrolled patients in RPM, we did not know what to expect, but it was pretty simple.

100Plus had access to our electronic medical records system to pull our data and mine for any patients that would qualify for RPM, whether due to hypertension, blood pressure, weight, etc. They captured all those who could use these services and narrowed it down to make sure we are reaching those patients. 100Plus was also able to help with patient outreach because they ship devices directly to our patients for us.

About Mr Navarette

Eric Navarette has been the practice manager at Sweetwater Medical Associates for about 1.5 years. Prior to accepting his current role, he spent approximately 14 years in the billing and collections department.