The Issue of Patient Engagement

As a safety measure during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector has redefined how patients are diagnosed, monitored and treated. To continue the practice of social distancing, the adoption of telehealth in various settings without the exception of senior care is necessary. 

Prior to the pandemic, the number of older adults who preferred to live independently  or “age in place” already increased by 35% for ages 75 to 84, and 55% for those over 84 years, according to HealthTech Magazine. This number increased significantly during the past year and people are not only afraid to visit hospitals and clinics, but also feel unsafe in long term care facilities and nursing homes due to their susceptibility to COVID-19 outbreaks. 

However, aging in place presents its own unique challenges. Many seniors require constant oversight and real time intervention. Previously, patients were cared for by nursing staff and on-site medical professionals. Today, the question is, how do healthcare professionals provide a similar level of engagement, remotely?

It is our belief that recent innovations in Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) technology, including the advent of wearable health devices, and 4G/5G/IoT sensors, not only bridge the ‘tele-gap’ but can also enhance the quality of senior care. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted Senior Care. 

From biomarkers such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), oxygen saturation, blood pressure and glucose levels and beyond, artificially intelligent RPM technology aims to collect and interpret a constant flow of health data. 

SenSights.AI, for instance, offers the Safe@Home platform. This integrates FDA medical devices, 4G/5G/IoT Sensors, smartphones and ambient non-wearable devices to manage real-time monitoring, routine measurements and smart alerts. Our platform enables home care services, at-risk providers or medical facilities to set condition-specific ranges for analysis and intervention as necessary. 

Safe@Home provides dedicated health management solutions for elderly patients with Memory Loss, Diabetes and COPD/CHF. Our solutions help bridge the gap in patient engagement. We assist healthcare workers in providing accurate and remote delivery of care and, ultimately, empower older adults to age in place. 

In addition to biomarkers, SenSights.AI packages includes a chat or video conference option for healthcare providers to contact patients, and vice versa. The 24/7 support provides patients with a sense of comfort that, in turn, helps them adapt to the homeward shift of senior care. According to HealthTech Magazine, one 2019 survey indicates that “two-third of patients 40 and older would utilize a health monitoring device” to track their health if it helps reduce their hospital visits. 

How our RPM Solution Works

Safe@Home is one aspect of our RPM solution that collects health and wellness data, creating an end-to-end digital twin of the elderly patient. It also sends out alerts and notifications to help caregivers, home care providers and other professionals to monitor and intervene in their patients’ health. 

Our RPM care solution flows through these 5 simple steps: 

• • Information Collection: Key vitals such as heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, plus glucose and oxygen saturation levels, are collected via an approved list of health devices. These biomarkers provide vital information to professional caregivers and home care providers to track and monitor their patients’ health. This data allows caregivers to make changes, as necessary, to treatments or medications. It is stored on the cloud, enabling real time data collection.
  • Data Transmission: The data collected is transferred to care providers via the internet. This helps seniors and caregivers alike make the most of their virtual healthcare engagements. 
  • Insightful Evaluation:  Our solution utilizes SenSights.AI, a dedicated health intelligence algorithm to transfer information from the cloud to relevant medical facilities, home care providers or professional caregivers. Caregivers can use this data for monitoring and analysis for telehealth and telemedicine purposes. 
  • Alert Notification: After careful data evaluation, Safe@Home sends out regular smart alerts and notifications to caregivers and home care providers. It also offers such features as wandering detection, via geo fencing and GPS monitoring, for older adults that suffer from Dementia or Alzheimers. 
  • Immediate Action: Safe@Home also sends out emergency alerts to notify relevant caregivers and healthcare providers, plus emergency responders if immediate assistance is needed. Seniors will also be educated on how to avoid such emergent situations.

Key Insights?

An aging population, together with the pandemic, necessitates a shift towards telehealth and telemedicine across the healthcare sector. Home care providers and professional caregivers must find novel ways to keep elderly patients engaged, remotely, to ensure the health and safety of their patients and employees. 

RPM, together with advancements in AI technology, can improve the management of senior care. Safe@Home, for instance, utilizes wearable devices and IoT sensors to provide a constant flow of patient data. It has a user friendly interface to help interpret relevant data, and smart alerts, which helps caregivers take preventative measures in the interest of the health of their elderly patients.