My Recent Experience as a Caregiver and My Promise for Delivering Better HealthIT
Reflecting back on 2020, I wanted to share a personal healthcare experience I recently faced while serving as a caregiver to my husband, which further demonstrates why my team at Rimidi is so passionate about what we do.
My husband recently had surgery to repair a congenital heart issue. Throughout his entire healthcare experience I was awestruck by the well-honed skills of his surgeons and truly humbled by the hardworking healthcare professionals who have carried on through the unmistakable hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. But at the same time, I was perplexed at the outdated systems and technology used by this world-class hospital.
During his stay, my husband was connected to a continuous heart monitor with telemetry to the nurses' station. They meticulously tracked his fluid balance, pulse oximetry and multiple blood pressure measurements, but at discharge, he received a photocopied chart and was expected to keep track of key metrics, including weight, blood pressure, pulse and medications.
This made me take a step back. Why, when the technology to bridge this gap is available, are we sending patients home with photocopied charts? The need for remote patient monitoring comes into play here -- and its role has never been greater.
Smart watches and fitness trackers are now ubiquitous, with nearly a fourth of all Americans now wearing a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker, and there are a variety of proven telehealth solutions available to hospitals and clinicians. Simply put, there’s no reason patients should be given paper to rely on.
The Strong Need for Remote Patient Monitoring
Although technological strides and innovation have been made in the healthcare industry over the years, clinical inertia has created a lag in implementing the technology. This must change.
Hospitals, clinics and providers must widely use the sophisticated tools available to them. Every patient should be armed with validated technologies that monitor key biometrics at home and that alert clinicians of abnormalities. And we can achieve this by ensuring healthcare technology continues to advance and becomes more integrated in everyday life, no longer being a mix of devices and solutions providing data -- but having it all connect.
Not all RPM Technology is The Same
While this may seem easier said than done, it is possible. And never has the opportunity or need for such technological advances been more ripe.
At Rimidi, our team is committed to helping your large health system, medical center, multi-specialty practice, FQHC or RHC implement and adopt RPM technology to ensure success in a post-COVID world. Our FHIR-enabled Remote Patient Monitoring Platform not only integrates with your established EMR to optimize remote monitoring workflows, but also layers on next-generation clinical decision support that is key to driving insights, actions, and optimization of clinical outcomes.
Further, our platform enables problem-oriented views for chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity, as well as surgical episodes of care — all while working within the existing clinical workflow.
We know that proactive, continuous, virtual models of care like RPM are crucial for holistic patient care -- and especially for the most vulnerable populations. In 2021, we are here to help you further understand the benefits of RPM and how to easily add it to your existing workflow. To learn more, we invite you to contact a member of our team or request a demo today.
