Remote monitoring is also known as remote patient monitoring (RPM). It is the remote collection, transmission, and analysis of a consumer's health data from individuals using digital health technologies and devices.
Consumer data is transmitted to a portal, enabling healthcare professionals to track and manage consumers’ health conditions, symptoms and vital signs, without the need for an in-person consultation.
RPM usually involves using:
- medical devices
- sensors
- wearable devices
- digital platforms, including mobile clinical applications (apps).
All remote monitoring services should have clinical procedures in place that clearly identify escalation procedures. The consumer should receive information on the service, its role and responsibilities, processes, procedures and how their information will be monitored, handled and stored.
Where the RPM portal is not integrated with the electronic medical record (eMR), the clinical information collected through remote monitoring should be entered into a consumer’s eMR, as a priority.
Uses of remote monitoring equipment or devices
Remote monitoring equipment or devices can be used to measure the following:
- Blood glucose
- Blood pressure
- Heart rate
- Heart rhythm (pacemaker)
- Respiratory function
- Oxygen saturation
- Body temperature
- Body weight
- Falls
This is not an exhaustive list. As technology continues to develop, new devices will become available to meet clinical needs.
There are multipurpose devices that can take different clinical readings. These can be useful for people with more than one chronic condition, and be less overwhelming than having many devices.