Telehealth, a broad range of technologies and services used to provide care and services at a distance, is changing the landscape of medical care in a monumental way. It helps educate the patient on their care and provides an extra layer of support, allowing patients to recover safely in the comfort of home. And one of telehealth’s main technologies used, remote patient monitoring (RPM), is leading the way, allowing nurses to monitor their patient’s day-to-day health utilizing easy-to-use technology that relays their medications, symptoms and vitals to a clinician’s office. If there’s anything “off,” the appropriate health care workers will be alerted.
This “long-distance” patient–clinician contact has revolutionized the way people are cared for, and contrary to what some believe, telehealth does not replace healthcare workers, particularly home health aides. Instead, it compliments them and their work by being their ‘eyes and ears’ when they cannot be at a patient’s home.
For example, every day patients can take their vitals with the help of telehealth, and if there’s an issue, such as low blood pressure, a nurse will learn in real-time what is going on; if it’s serious, the nurse can coordinate with the patient’s doctor to prevent adverse outcomes and decrease the chances of the patient having to go to the emergency room.
Additionally, RPM systems offer educational videos to encourage engagement and promote better self-care as well as provide medication reminders to keep patients on track with their care plan. In these ways, patients can take ownership of their health and enjoy an overall healthier lifestyle.
