Remote Physiologic Monitoring
A report from Rhythm Management Group, PLLC, confirms the growing application of remote physiologic monitoring (RPM), the virtual care management approach in which physicians remotely monitor patients’ vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, and weight.
The findings come from a survey commissioned by Rhythm and conducted by healthcare consultancy Sage Growth Partners. The survey found that more than half of medical practices (57%) currently use RPM, and half of those not yet using it plan to do so in the next two years. This means that by January 2024, more than three-quarters of all practices (76%) will be using RPM.
“Based on what we have seen over our 10 years in the remote monitoring space, we wanted to quantify current RPM adoption trends, and better understand which practices are using it most often and why, as well as the challenges that they face,” said Rhonda Bray, RN, Founder and CEO of Rhythm Management Group. “This report provides clarity on the benefits of RPM and offers a preliminary roadmap for bypassing the obstacles that may keep some practices from achieving complete success in implementation.”
The full results are included in Rhythm’s report: Poised for Flight: Remote Physiologic Monitoring Has Arrived. Key findings include:
Most current RPM users surveyed indicate it has significant patient, staff, and ROI benefits:
- 73% said RPM improves patient satisfaction.
- 79% said it has a positive impact on patient care.
- 66% said it improves patient outcomes.
- 43% said it leads to fewer emergency department visits or hospital admissions.
- 64% said it improves staff satisfaction.
- 60% said it has a high ROI.
Common challenges cited by RPM users include management, physician engagement, and reimbursement:
- More than half (55%) said it takes three to five staff to manage the program, and 28% said it takes six or more.
- Nearly 60% said they receive less than half of the total potential reimbursement for RPM services.
- When asked about the top physician-related challenge, the most popular response was: “Physicians get frustrated because patients don’t stay engaged with the program.”
Overcoming these challenges may be found in partnering with a third party for patient onboarding and engagement, logistics and device management, monitoring and data analysis, as well as reimbursement. The survey findings indicate that practices using a third party find the service support eliminates the burden of remote monitoring from practice staff and ensures higher patient engagement and connectivity. The technological component—such as a secure remote management platform—streamlines the physician review process and enhances data analytics and clinical decision making.
One hundred practice physicians, administrators, and executives were surveyed between November 29, 2021 and January 10, 2022. About two-thirds of respondents hailed from independent practices and about one-third worked for hospital-owned or affiliated practices.
Recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte, Rhythm has more than a decade of experience centralizing and streamlining remote monitoring operational workflows for medical practices and health systems.
Click here to read the complete report.