Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems worldwide continue to face unprecedented challenges. Healthcare workers assigned for COVID-19 containment are at a higher risk of exposure and infection to the virus, thus reducing the available workforce. Telemedicine, as an alternative healthcare method of delivery, can help non-critical COVID-19 patients avoid hospital visits, reducing both provider and non-COVID-19 patient exposure.

The last few years have done more than proving the significance of healthcare to the world but they have also emphasized the need of safeguarding healthcare services and individuals. As the pandemic spread over the world, telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions became more valuable, owing to the demand for a rapid transformation from contact-based to virtual care, as well as the necessity for patient assistance in numerous locations and scenarios. Devices driven by the IoT provides the healthcare industry an enormous potential in refining telehealth functionality and RPM capabilities.

Transformation of Telehealth

RPM and telehealth solutions have made tremendous progress as a result of the rise of connected care, IoT devices, and remote toolkits. Medical professionals can walk into hospitals and medical establishments throughout the world using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality to provide rapid care to patients in unsafe or remote places. They can employ wearable devices to monitor patient’s condition indicators like heart rate and oxygen saturation, reducing threat to healthcare providers while assuring all time care for patients.

Telehealth has outperformed expectations since the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging mobile health technology, RPM tools, live video, virtual reality, and wearable devices to establish digital health ecosystems.   Over the years, these technologies have been improved and adapted to optimize how healthcare manages chronic illnesses and elderly patients, as well as people with disabilities benefit from telehealth intervention.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency, RPM treatments were only covered by Medicare for individuals who had one or more chronic illnesses. The requirement for physicians to treat patients with acute, time-limited diseases grew even more crucial as patients were advised to stay at home.

With the third wave of COVID-19 approaching, physicians around the world are swiftly adopting and deploying RPM for COVID-19, especially since many patients encourage the use of any connected care as an alternative for in-person care.

Patients who test positive for COVID-19 can benefit from home-based monitoring for an increase in symptoms, which can minimize the risk of transmitting and allow hospital-based care to be delivered more quickly.

With remote patient monitoring, healthcare providers can keep in touch with the patient after the initial virtual visit or screening by using remote patient monitoring. With connected devices, you may focus on changes in symptoms, underlying health issues, and risk factors. It allows your care team to follow protocols and react as the patient’s condition changes in a timely and suitable manner.

As essential as patient comfort and engagement are, the advantages of remote patient monitoring go beyond that, providing patients with the peace of mind that someone is constantly monitoring their health and well-being.

Wrapping Up

COVID-19 forced the healthcare industry to go virtual. Telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) services have become critical in the delivery of treatment. It is now simpler than ever for providers to deploy and utilize virtual care services without the limitations that previously existed. Because of the development of virtual care services and the rise of chronic illnesses, RPM will become ubiquitous technology and a benchmark for patient care. Preventing and treating diseases is considerably easier and less expensive than curing them, thanks to routine telemedicine check-ups and continuous assessment of symptoms and overall health with RPM.