Medically Reviewed By:Dr Hanif Chatur
Image Credit: Stat
Key Takeaways
- FQHCs and RPM Transformation: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are entering a new era with Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM).
- Critical Success Questions:
- Community Understanding: Tailoring RPM to diverse healthcare needs.
- Meaningful Goals: Setting measurable goals aligning with community aspirations.
- Key RPM Implementation Aspects:
- Trust and Security: Ensuring robust data privacy.
- User-Friendly Tools: Choosing accessible technology.
- Holistic Impact: Measuring comprehensive impacts on life and community health.
For as long as society can recall, senior care has been one of the most vexing problems for medical care- providers. Distance, inability to travel frequently, the ignominy and discomfort of frequent testing, losing balance, getting lost, seniors suffer it all. In the midst of all this, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) has emerged as a revolutionary approach in healthcare, offering numerous benefits. With RPM monitoring solutions for seniors, prickless glucose monitors, AI for fall detection, and GPS tracking, RPM promises superior levels of care for conditions like dementia and diabetes. We must recognise, however, that for now significant challenges confront the adoption of these remote care programs. This blog explores these challenges, focusing on technologies like RPM for dementia, fall detection services for seniors, and the integration of point of care documentation.
Technological Barriers
One of the primary hurdles in the adoption of remote care programs is the technological one. Trying to jump over it presents several challenges:
Advanced RPM Solutions: The Adoption Co-option
RPM Monitoring Solutions for Seniors: While these solutions offer real-time health monitoring, their adoption is often hindered by the seniors’ unfamiliarity with new technology. And so, in order to increase usage among the elderly, they need to have their hands held through the process several times till they have it down pat. Prickless Glucose Monitors and Diabetes Meters: For diabetic seniors, these devices promise to be a godsend, but the transition from traditional methods to advanced, prickless solutions can be daunting due to a lack of technological literacy on the part of the patient and also the data collector.
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AI for Fall Detection and GPS Tracking: Patients suffering from dementia often lose their way; they often lose their balance and fall. RPM technologies can prove to be critical to ensuring the safety of these elderly patients with dementia. However, the complexity of these systems can pose a challenge for both patients and caregivers. As always, patient and repeated education is the key to success.
Integration with Existing Healthcare Systems
Point of Care Documentation: Incorporating real-time documentation into healthcare providers’ workflow is crucial for effective remote care. However, aligning this new method of documentation with existing systems can be complex. Unless systems talk to each other, we have a christmas table full of relatives who are cross, and the care gravy doesn’t get passed to the patients.
Regulatory and Compliance Barriers
The healthcare industry is heavily regulated, and remote care programs are no exception.
Patient Data Security and Privacy: Ensuring compliance with laws like HIPAA in the US is a significant concern. The transition to remote monitoring raises questions about the security and privacy of patient data that is travelling over an internet Connection crawling with unscrupulous elements.
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Reimbursement Policies: Software developers and sellers need to get paid not only for supplying the software but for maintaining it, but many healthcare providers are unsure about the reimbursement policies for remote care services, making them hesitant to fully invest in these programs.
Cultural and Behavioral Barriers
The adoption of remote care programs is not just a technological or regulatory issue but also a cultural one.
Resistance to Change: You’ve heard the old maxim: don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. The sad bit is, it is kind of broken, but we’ve been using existing systems for so long we don’t realize we’ve been long overdue for an upgrade. Often enough, there is resistance from both healthcare providers and patients, especially seniors, to shift from traditional in-person care models to remote monitoring. Need I say it again? Education!
Trust and Relationship Dynamics: Building trust in remote care technologies, especially in sensitive areas like fall detection for seniors or RPM for dementia patients, is challenging.
Economic and Resource Barriers
Economic factors play a significant role in the adoption of remote care programs.
Initial Investment Costs: The setup cost for remote care technology, including devices like fall detection services and prickless diabetes meters, can be prohibitive for many healthcare providers.
Training and Implementation: Training staff and implementing these technologies into existing healthcare practices soak up additional resources and investment and make a worthwhile project appear increasingly unappealing.
Implementation Challenges: The Doing of It
User-Friendly Design: Devices like prickless glucose monitors and fall devices for seniors need to be designed with the elderly in mind, considering factors like ease of use, readability, simplicity and, sometimes, dignity.
Accessibility and Usability for Seniors
Adaptation to Patient Needs: Solutions like RPM for dementia need to be tailored to the specific needs and capabilities of dementia patients, who may have unique challenges in using technology.
Continuity and Quality of Care
Consistent Monitoring and Support: Effective care for dementia and diabetes requires an uncompromising attitude to monitoring and timely support. Despite the best of intentions, a human agent cannot monitor and manage as correctly as a RPM.
Quality of Care: That said, we find ourselves under a strict obligation to step up to the plate and ensure that the quality of care provided remotely matches or exceeds that of traditional in-person care.
The Path Forward
We know there are barriers, but that doesn’t have to mean we drop remote care technology that obviously has tremendous potential for senior care. The path forward involves a multi-faceted approach.
Enhancing Technological Literacy: Educating seniors and healthcare providers about the use and benefits of technologies like AI for fall detection or GPS tracking for the elderly.
Streamlining Regulatory Processes: Simplifying the regulatory framework for remote care programs to encourage more healthcare providers to adopt these technologies.
Fostering Cultural Adaptation: Building trust in remote care technologies through patient education and demonstration of their benefits.
Investing in User-Friendly Solutions: Developing solutions that are intuitive and easy for seniors to use, like user-friendly fall devices and prickless diabetes meters.
Ensuring Economic Viability: Making the economic case for remote care by highlighting long-term cost savings and improved patient outcomes.
The adoption of remote care programs holds immense potential in transforming healthcare, especially for seniors. While significant barriers exist, ranging from technological challenges and regulatory hurdles to cultural resistance and economic constraints, they are not insurmountable. With concerted and coordinated efforts, technology developers, healthcare providers, policymakers and patients can overcome these barriers.
The future of healthcare could very well see a seamless integration of advanced solutions like RPM monitoring for seniors, AI-driven fall detection, and prickless glucose monitoring, paving the way for more efficient, effective, and patient-centric care. As we struggle to jump over these barriers in the healthcare steeplechase, we should not lose sight of the ultimate goal: enhancing the quality of life for seniors by deploying innovative and accessible healthcare solutions. For these seniors, we have to be the show-horse.
MarkiTech.AI is a team of over 50 software engineers, data scientists and clinicians plus other health practitioners who have developed over 40 digital health solutions in the last 10 years such as SenSights.AI, Veyetals.com and CliniScripts.com which focus on helping older adults and their caregivers like family, physicians, nurses etc., age in place, reduce costs and improve revenue opportunities.