P08 - Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) in the Home: Improving Outcomes in Older Patients with Multiple Chronic Diseases

Recent changes in healthcare focus on providing care of patients in the community-based setting with a goal of decreasing hospitalizations. Caring for older patients is complicated by the presence of multiple chronic medical conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and COPD, requiring closer monitoring to prevent hospitalizations. Advances in technology are bringing the monitoring of specific physiological parameters to the patient home. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is the collection of data, such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, weight, and blood glucose, by the patient in the home and transmitting this data to a provider for review. Gilchrist’s elder medical care (EMC) program currently utilizes the use of RPM for homebound patients requiring closer monitoring of one or more chronic medical conditions. The goal of the program is to identify decline in the patient and treat the patient in the home, limiting the potential for hospitalization. Patients are identified for inclusion in the program by the primary care provider and enrolled in the program for a minimum of sixty (60) days. The program is administered in conjunction with a third-party provider who receives the transmissions and reports any physiological parameters outside set ranges, known as alerts. The use of technology, such as RPM, will continue to increase as payment for monitoring services increase. Studies indicate that patients, especially younger patients, accept various forms of telemonitoring for delivery of their care. Utilization of RPM in the home has promise to identify patient decline in a timely manner which can help promote positive outcomes.