Remote healthcare is an emerging research field as the world moves towards remote monitoring, real-time, and fast detection of illnesses. Remote healthcare has many categories, (e.g. telehealth, mobile health) all of which mean monitoring of patients outside hospital conditions by means of technology. The advantages of remote monitoring of patients are early and real-time detection of illnesses, ability to continuously monitor patients, prevention of worsening of illnesses and untimely deaths, cost reduction in hospitalizations, reduction in the number of hospitalizations, obtaining more accurate readings while permitting usual daily activities for patients, improve efficiency in healthcare services by utilizing communication technology, emergency medical care, service for patients with mobility issues, emergency care for traffic accidents and other injuries and usage of non-invasive medical interventions.

Remote monitoring of patients target several sub-groups of patients, such as patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses, patients with mobility issues, or other disability, post-surgery patients, neonates, and elderly patients. All these types of patients have conditions that are better to be monitored continuously. The aim of good healthcare is the ability to support ordinary life as comfortably as possible for all patients. Most research follows the policy of allowing mobility and activity freedom at home or personal environments which are beneficial for the patients rather than being confined into a high-cost hospital room.
Cardiac Care With Remote Monitoring
Remote monitoring has transformed cardiac care by providing comprehensive, actionable insights into a cardiac patient’s heart health from their home via remote monitoring devices. This has proven to be a valuable tool for cardiologists as they seek ways to enhance cardiac care pathways. Remote monitoring of patients has several advantages such as early and real-time detection of illnesses, the ability to continuously monitor patients, prevention of worsening of illnesses and untimely deaths, cost reduction in hospitalizations, reduce the number of hospitalizations, and obtaining more accurate readings while permitting usual daily activities for patients. When it comes to designing a remote patient monitoring system, several challenges exist.
Octagos
Octagos is such Cardiac remote monitoring platform that is developed as one of the best services to help doctors and patients keep good care of their hearts remotely and accurately. It was founded by a team of healthcare professionals to better serve cardiac device patients. As care is increasingly managed between hospital and home, remote monitoring devices are playing a vital role in developing effective cardiac care pathwaysWith the growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease, cardiologists are balancing the need to deliver high-quality care for a growing number of patients with complex conditions while managing pressures to improve efficiency within their department or practice.The ability to provide comprehensive, actionable insights into a cardiac patient’s heart health from their home via remote monitoring devices has proven to be a valuable tool for cardiologists as they seek ways to enhance cardiac care pathways. Remote patient monitoring systems are designed to obtain a number of physiological data from patients. Most common data are Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electroencephalogram (EEG), heart beats and respiration rate, oxygen volume in blood or pulse oximetry, signals from the nervous system, blood pressure, body/skin temperature and blood glucose level. In addition to these, sometimes, weight of the patient, level of activity of the patient and sleep data are collected. A number of researches have been done for wound management and sleep monitoring applications.
BENEFITS OF REMOTE MONITORING:
- Remote monitoring in healthcare can help prevent severe, costly health outcomes in patients while also improving the overall health of patients with chronic diseases or ongoing medical conditions.
- Remote patient monitoring gives a more complete look at your patient’s condition.
- Remote patient monitoring gives your patients better control over their health
- Remote patient monitoring helps your practice retain and attract more patients
- Builds patient engagement
- Optimizes clinical staff efficiency and combats clinical staff shortages
- Improves patient experience and satisfaction
Other benefits of remote monitoring include early and real-time detection of illnesses, ability to continuously monitor patients, prevention of worsening of illnesses and untimely deaths, cost reduction in hospitalizations, reduce the number of hospitalizations, obtain more accurate readings while permitting usual daily activities for patients.
Remote Patient Monitoring Devices in Healthcare:
Once a measurement is taken, the top FDA cleared RPM medical devices automatically send patient readings to RPM portals for care providers to access in real-time. Each remote patient monitoring device measures a different vital sign. Depending on the patient’s condition, some devices are more ideal to use than others. For example, someone who is pre-hypertensive will benefit from using a blood pressure monitor while someone with diabetes will benefit from using a blood glucose meter. It is important to note that the sophistication and availability of these devices vary based on the remote monitoring service provider. Several top remote patient monitoring devices are available to healthcare organizations, including:
- Blood pressure monitors
- Scales
- Blood glucose meters
- Peak Flow Meters
- Pulse Oximeters
- Thermometers
- Activity trackers
CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH REMOTE MONITORING:
Some challenges associated with remote monitoring include
- Data privacy and security concerns,
- Lack of standardization and
- Reimbursement issues.
There are also concerns about the accuracy and reliability of remote monitoring devices.
FUTURE OF REMOTE MONITORING:
Remote monitoring is expected to continue to grow in popularity and use in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote monitoring technologies and has highlighted the need for remote monitoring in healthcare. The future of remote monitoring is expected to include more advanced technologies such as wearable devices, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data analytics. Remote monitoring is also expected to become more integrated into healthcare systems and become more widely available to patients.