Sleep is a critical but often overlooked factor in chronic care management. As healthcare organizations focus more on value-based care and proactive health strategies, monitoring sleep patterns can offer valuable insights into patient health risks and outcomes. While a watch for sleep tracking is not currently billable under remote patient monitoring (RPM) CPT codes, it can serve as a powerful supplemental tool, giving care teams added visibility into sleep trends not available in standard monitoring programs.
This article explores how using a smart watch for sleep tracking can support chronic care management, the connection to hospital readmissions, and how sleep tracking can enhance whole-person care, even without RPM reimbursement.
What is a Smart Watch for Sleep Tracking?
While a smart watch for sleep tracking captures general sleep patterns and trends, it is not intended to detect or diagnose sleep apnea or other clinical sleep disorders. Instead, it provides care teams with continuous sleep monitoring and insights into sleep habits, which can be directly linked to worsening health conditions. The Tenovi Smart Watch is a cellular-connected wearable designed to complement remote patient monitoring programs focused on improving chronic condition management. It automatically tracks daily step counts, heart rate, activity levels, and sleep patterns. Unlike consumer wearables, it transmits data directly to care teams without relying on Wi-Fi, apps, or patient intervention.
Why Sleep Tracking for Chronic Care?
Sleep quality is a vital sign in managing conditions like heart disease, diabetes, COPD, and hypertension. At least seven hours is the recommended amount of sleep for adults.
The percentage of adults who do not get enough sleep varies by where they live and their sex, age, and race and ethnicity. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 37% of U.S. adults report sleeping less than 7 hours per night, a number that increases significantly in patients with chronic illnesses.
Poor sleep is more than an inconvenience. It can be a clinical risk factor that can:
- Increase blood pressure and cardiovascular events
- Worsen blood glucose control in diabetes
- Exacerbate mental health issues
- Drive up hospital readmission rates
Sleep Quality and Hospital Readmissions
Poor sleep isn’t just a symptom of chronic illness. It is a clinical risk factor directly tied to hospital readmissions. Research published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure found that heart failure patients with obstructive sleep apnea experience elevated readmission rates compared to the general heart failure population, especially within the first 90 days after discharge.
Additionally, a 2020 pilot study examining the relationship between sleep quality and hospital readmissions revealed that patients reporting poor sleep were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days. These findings show the critical role sleep health plays in chronic care management and why continuous sleep tracking may be a benefit to value-based care programs.
The Value of a Watch for Sleep Tracking
Incorporating a watch for sleep tracking into chronic care management brings value to whole-patient care and value-based care goals. These watches automatically capture sleep duration with no patient logging required. When patients know their sleep is being monitored, they are more likely to engage in conversations about behavior changes, medications, or stress management. Research shows that patients involved with their health data stick to care plans more consistently.
Sleep quality impacts nearly every system in the body. Shifts in sleep patterns can signal worsening conditions or medication side effects. Tracking it alongside activity and heart rate gives care teams a more complete view of patient health, and allows providers to spot issues early and intervene before health declines lead to hospital visits.
The Tenovi Watch
The Tenovi watch for sleep tracking bridges a major gap in remote care by providing actionable insights into sleep patterns in chronic care management. While not intended to diagnose sleep apnea, the watch helps healthcare providers:
- Monitor patients passively and continuously
- Prioritize interventions for patients showing signs of health deterioration
- Drive patient engagement through real-world data
- Reduce costly hospitalizations and emergency visits
- Support value-based care contracts with better patient outcomes
Integrating a watch for sleep tracking can be a complement to remote monitoring programs. It provides and additional tool for healthcare organizations to gain insights into patient sleep patterns, supporting the shift toward whole-person, value-based care. If you are interested in exploring Tenovi’s RPM and RTM solutions, book your free demo and consultation with us today.
