Telemedicine leverages digital technology to provide remote healthcare services, such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Offering a convenient alternative to in-person visits, especially for those facing accessibility barriers, the key question is: What does research reveal about telemedicine’s effectiveness in improving patient outcomes? This article explores four recent telemedicine studies and their findings.
Recent Telemedicine Studies
- Telehealth services for opioid use disorder
- IoMT and blockchain technology for emergency response services (EMS)
- Remotely-monitored sleep in prostate cancer patients
- Blood glucose levels via remote patient monitoring
Telehealth Services and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The first of four recent telemedicine studies was published in JAMA Psychiatry. The research was led by researchers at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the Office of the Administrator, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The research found that Medicare beneficiaries who began telemedicine opioid treatment during the pandemic with opioid help disorder-related telehealth services had a 33% lower risk of a fatal drug overdose.
Mortality rates (classified as all-cause mortality and drug overdose mortality specifically) were higher in the pandemic cohort compared to the pre-pandemic cohort; however, the percentage of deaths due to drug overdose was similar between the two cohorts.
Secure and Fast Emergency Road Healthcare Service and Blockchain Technology
The state of South Dakota has approved initiatives focused on using telemedicine for emergency response in rural areas. Since some emergency medical services (EMS) agencies are up to an hour away from a hospital, the program connects responders to emergency physicians and nurses via video or telephone inside the ambulance. This allows healthcare teams to remotely monitor the patient’s vitals and guide responders en route to the emergency department.
Recent studies have explored using blockchain technology for faster emergency response times and improved pre-hospital care. One study proposed a system where EMS would receive the location of an injured person and then use intelligent communication to gain priority on the roads. The system would also collect the patient’s vital signs and transmit the health data to the trauma center, allowing the hospital to prepare for the incoming patient.
Several recent telemedicine studies have covered the topic of blockchain technology in healthcare. The proposed model enables emergency vehicles to arrive as soon as possible at the scene of an accident to facilitate advanced treatment. In the proposed model, EMS first receives the location of the injured person, and with intelligent communication, road priority is gained. The system then collects patient vital signs and transmits the health data to the trauma center.
The common goal of EMS telemedicine is to enhance pre-hospital care and ensure patients receive prompt, appropriate treatment.
Remotely-Monitored Sleep Measures In Prostate Cancer Patients
Sleep disturbance is a significant issue for men undergoing androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer treatment. Insomnia, fragmented sleep patterns, and fatigue can severely diminish quality of life and lead to poor clinical outcomes in this patient population. The third of the four recent telemedicine studies points to a potential solution leveraging wearable consumer technology for remote sleep monitoring.
The study from Cedars-Sinai and the Durham VA medical centers had prostate cancer patients continuously wearing Fitbit Charge heart rate activity trackers for 8 weeks. While commercially available wearables are not typically used for medical sleep tracking, the researchers found remotely monitoring sleep via these devices to be feasible.
The data revealed poor sleep duration and quality that worsened over time, characterized by frequent awakenings and segmented sleep. These symptoms were likely associated with treatment side effects and other cancer-related symptoms. Although more evidence is still needed, the study suggests consumer wearables could enable improved sleep management by allowing providers to intervene remotely and address sleep issues in prostate cancer patients.
Remote Patient Monitoring Improves Glycemic Control
In other recent telemedicine research, a single-center study demonstrated the potential of a smartphone-linked telehealth platform to significantly improve glycemic control in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. evaluated the effectiveness of a remote diabetes platform in improving glycemic control and reducing A1C in patients with uncontrolled type II diabetes mellitus.
The 12-week single-center study involved 78 adults who used a smartphone app connected to a glucometer to share blood glucose data with their physicians easily. This enabled continuous, real-time, remote monitoring of patients’ glycemic levels. The remote monitoring group saw average reductions in A1C levels of 1.70%, compared to just 0.474% in the control group over 12 weeks. The researchers concluded that integrating user-friendly remote diabetes management platforms into care plans could positively impact glycemic control.
Understanding Recent Telemedicine Studies
As these recent telemedicine studies demonstrate, telemedicine solutions from wearables for sleep tracking to smartphone-connected glucose monitors, remote patient monitoring technologies have opened new avenues for enhanced chronic disease management and preventative care delivery. Providers can leverage accessible, patient-friendly devices to collect medical data and intervene promptly when needed continuously.
Research shows that RPM solutions improve health outcomes, especially for patients struggling with adherence or those managing complex, multi-faceted conditions.
