The mobile health industry has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. While telehealth utilization is skyrocketing, some are correct not to assign it parity with the value of face-to-face encounters. Simple telephonic and video encounters lack important biometric context that comes from vital signs, physical examination and diagnostic testing, without which certain impending emergent conditions might be missed, or more indolent killers like hypertension and diabetes may etch away. Telemedicine should be promoted to effectively address more serious and costly conditions as much as possible, rather than drive over-utilization in situations where impact is minimal.
CarePortMD has developed and deployed a successful model of health care delivery based on remote monitoring followed by reactive telemedicine (that is informed with biometrics). We call our model “Reactive Monitoring and Progressive Telemedicine” (RMPT), wherein we monitor patient-generated health data from Bluetooth-enabled peripheral devices that measure blood pressure, blood glucose, oxygen saturation, heart rate, weight, hemoglobin A1c, spirometry (lung function) and temperature. Clinical responses are algorithmically triggered when abnormalities are detected. The system represents an opportunity for upstream regulation of resource allocation, minimizing unnecessary emergency department transports in favor of more efficient care modalities like telemedicine, community paramedicine, CarePortMD Retail Diagnostic Centers or delayed primary follow up.
Companies and health plans continue to contract with a growing number of telehealth providers. CarePortMD’s Reactive Monitoring services can amplify cost savings and return on investment for these programs by expanding their diagnostic capabilities in helping manage the costliest drivers of healthcare expense. Identifying clinical concerns at a point when an informed telemedicine encounter can be an effective intervention is far preferable to a situation that mandates a trip to the hospital. At a time when chronic disease represents the largest pandemic, it’s time to focus on proactive medicine over reactive medicine.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Ashok Subramanian, MD | info@careportmd.com | 302-202-3020
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