Access to quality healthcare can be a challenge for individuals living in rural communities. Geographic distances, physician shortages, and limited resources create barriers to adequate medical care. Research shows that access to telehealth in rural communities is removing barriers and putting high-quality healthcare within reach.
A rural Tennessee teleoncology program study found that 95% of patients who initially had in-person visits, and then used telehealth for cancer care for half of their visits, reported the experience was as good as or better than in-person appointments.
This comprehensive guide explores 7 benefits of remote patient monitoring and telehealth use cases in rural communities.
- Provides rural communities with better access to high-quality healthcare.
- Offers savings for both patients and the healthcare system.
- Keeps organizations ahead of expected medical staff shortages.
- Opportunity for increased revenue in medical facilities.
- Helps lighten the workload.
- Telehealth funding programs are available to help rural providers.
- Remote health increases patient satisfaction.
1) Telehealth in Rural Communities: High-Quality Healthcare
Health inconsistencies occur more often in rural populations than urban populations. The lack of health care services, contributes to higher rates of chronic disease, poor overall health, and lower quality of life. According to Health Psychology Research, lack of transportation means a patient is not receiving adequate healthcare, which correlates with the need to see a doctor more often,.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) and telehealth in rural communities remove the transportation barrier. Unlike telehealth, remote patient monitoring has no geographic location restrictions. This expands access to preventive care for patients with chronic conditions. Additionally, all Medicare recipients are eligible for RPM services if the device reasonably applies to treatment for the patient’s condition.
Frequent telemonitoring enables earlier intervention by a physician to treat deteriorating conditions. For instance, in heart failure patients, remote monitoring has been shown to reduce all-cause mortality and hospitalization in patients with heart failure.
Furthermore, a large study found that behavioral health treatment delivered to patients in rural, underserved communities, treated via telemedicine vs. in-person showed similar results in treatment.
2) Savings for Rural Patients and Providers
Telehealth in rural communities generates cost savings. Jefferson Health found that telemedicine consultations resulted in short-term cost savings by diverting patients from more expensive care settings. Telehealth saves costs because many health concerns are resolved in a virtual consultation.
Remote solutions shift the focus from reactive care to preventive care, and overall, patients avoid costly trips to the emergency room and rehospitalization. Generally, the earlier complications are identified, the more affordable they are to treat.
Another benefit for rural hospitals and clinics is that more beds are available for patients with critical care needs. This allows hospitals to continue providing quality healthcare services at lower costs. Likewise, patients experience financial savings by avoiding long-distance travel costs for specialist care.
Clinicians can use RPM to monitor health trends and observe how patients respond to medications. Additionally, they can set a threshold to receive real-time alerts when a patient’s vital sign reads too high. Staying on top of critical sign data with remote physiological monitoring can help avoid costly ambulatory patient transfers.
3) Stay Ahead of Staff Shortages
The American Hospital Association called the growing need for healthcare workers a national emergency. The statistics published in the Journal of the American Medical Association report that 32% of doctors reported feeling burned out in 2019. By 2022, that number rose to 40%. Additionally, nearly 41% of nurses reported burnout in 2019, which grew to just over 49% in 2022.
Meanwhile, America is aging faster. The Census Bureau reports that 16.8% of the population was aged 65 or older in 2021, and predicts that number will grow to 21% in 2030. Elderly and Alzheimer’s disease patients often require more hospital, assisted living, and general medical care. In addition, geriatric patients are more likely to have chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. It is a concern that staff shortages can add to poor health outcomes for this aging population, especially in rural areas.
Telehealth and remote patient monitoring increase efficiencies and simplify workflows for healthcare teams. As populations age, the volume of patients needing care also rises. With more patients to care for, healthcare providers have an increased opportunity to generate revenue. Medical practices that offer remote services, especially in rural communities, can benefit from better, more efficient workflow.
4) Increased Revenue in Rural Practices
Remote health solutions give medical professionals added time in their day to see more patients. RPM and telehealth in rural communities also reduce the chance of missed appointments. This means less missed revenue for a practice and more time allocated for patient preventive care.
RPM provides practices with the opportunity to drive recurring revenue. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allows CMS allows “incident to” billing for remote patient monitoring services. This means a service can be performed under the supervision of a physician and billed to Medicare under the physician’s name. It provides Medicare reimbursement for RPM treatment management services, which covers 20 minutes or more of clinical staff/physician/other qualified healthcare professional time in a calendar month.
5) Workload and Workflow
Telehealth research findings during the COVID-19 pandemic identified three concerns with traditional care:
- Lack of staff
- Need for coordinated health services
- Operational and facility issues
Remote health services alleviate these concerns. RPM lightens the workload for rural healthcare teams because RPM saves time and reduces costs for both the patient and the care provider. Clinicians care for more patients without necessarily spending more time.
To help create more efficient workflows, healthcare organizations may outsource remote patient monitoring services to third-party remote patient monitoring companies. This easy 5-step guide will help you understand the procedures and responsibilities required for remote patient monitoring.
6) Telehealth in Rural Communities and Funding
The Health Resources and Services Administration lists several grant programs that fund rural telehealth projects. The HRSA focuses on improving healthcare, expanding access, and improving health outcomes. Their telehealth grant programs promote and advance telehealth services in rural areas.
In addition, the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) website lists grant opportunities for telehealth and broadband-related programs with deadline dates. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, funding opportunities were available for rural tele-emergency services, emphasizing tele-stroke, tele-behavioral health, and EMS telemedicine.
7) RPM and Telehealth in Rural Communities and Patient Satisfaction
One significant benefit of RPM and telehealth in rural communities is increased patient satisfaction. Telehealth services, such as remote patient monitoring, optimize preventive care outcomes through early intervention and timely treatment. It is also much less stressful for a patient when taking vital sign readings from the comfort of their own home.
The Pittsburgh health system (UPMC) developed an RPM program for acute, advanced, and chronic conditions. Patients with heart disease used remote patient devices, including scales, BP cuffs, pulse oximeters, and glucometers for diabetes management. After tracking 1,500 Medicare patients for a year and a half, the health system found that 76% were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. Most significant was that patient satisfaction and compliance were over 90%.
It is important to note that some studies show low RPM patient satisfaction results when inadequate training on telehealth technology and internet connection issues exist. This is where RPM device quality and technology and technical support come into play. The following section provides and overview of remote patient monitoring device technology.
Is Bluetooth or Cellular RPM Best for Rural Populations?
Remote patient monitoring is revolutionizing healthcare for rural patients, allowing them to quickly and easily transmit vital sign data to their physicians. Common remote patient monitoring devices include wireless blood pressure monitors, wireless weight tracking scales, wireless blood glucose monitors, wireless pulse oximeters, wireless peak flow meters, and wireless thermometers. RPM companies offer various cellular and Bluetooth device types to choose from.
Using a cellular gateway for remote monitoring devices expands the choice and flexibility for chronic care, telehealth, remote patient monitoring software, and service companies. Here is a quick summary of cellular vs. Bluetooth RPM medical device benefits.
Bluetooth RPM device benefits:
- Bluetooth is the more cost-effective option.
- Bluetooth devices connect to the internet when a patient cannot access a cellular network.
- A more comprehensive array of Bluetooth devices are available for healthcare providers and patients.
Cellular and celluar-connected RPM device benefits:
- Transmits patient health data in the fastest, safest, most reliable ways.
- Easy for the patient
- More likely to remove frustration with no downloading apps or syncing needed.
- Patients can use devices right out of the box for a seamless experience.
Preprogrammed cellular-connected RPM device benefits:
- RPM devices come preprogrammed to work with the gateway, with syncing or app setup required.
- It can support a wide range of devices, not just one brand.
- Simplifies data aggregation from multiple RPM devices, even with various user devices in one home.
Meet a Better Remote Patient Monitoring Experience
It is important to remember that high patient adherence rates are critical to a successful patient monitoring program. Are you looking for a better experience? One that offers the convenience of a cellular hub with many Bluetooth device options for rural patient care? Schedule your free demo with Tenovi, and get ready to meet a better remote patient monitoring experience.
