Two companies have unveiled expanded remote patient monitoring platforms that help providers track patient vitals after discharge, a resource surging in popularity with the advent of COVID-19.
100Plus, a growing remote patient monitoring platform, includes with its platform a blood pressure cuff, digital weight scale and blood glucose monitor, all of which are free to Medicare patients.
On Monday, Prevounce Health, creator of the Prevounce Care Coordination Platform, released its remote patient monitoring software and connected patient device program. Prevounce integrates its preventive and chronic care management services with many of the most popular electronic medical records systems and was designed to fit seamlessly into medical practice workflow. Its PrevChek smart devices support monitoring of blood pressure, weight, blood glucose and pulse oximetry, with spirometry and electrocardiography capabilities expected in the near future.
Such systems help clinicians monitor patients and provide data that can inform decisions about care during and after transitions.
“We began development on Prevounce Remote Patient Monitoring around eight months ago, and could never have imagined how important RPM would become with the emergence of COVID-19,” said Prevounce Health founder Daniel Tashnek. “Providers can implement our RPM program within 48 hours and then immediately start onboarding patients to provide important vital monitoring while reducing the chance of disease transmission.
100Plus notes seniors have dramatically higher mortality rates for COVID-19 and a greater number of comorbid chronic conditions that make seeking further in-person care — or a hospital readmission — more risky.
“COVID-19 makes the doctors’ office a potential infectious environment for the 80 percent of seniors with chronic conditions and remote patient monitoring is now the front line of care for senior patients,” said Ryan Howard, CEO and Founder of 100Plus. “100Plus’ platform is a critical element to enable telemedicine by giving doctors proactive insights into their patients who are at risk for catastrophic events.”
Seniors enrolled in 100Plus receive a fully configured medical device that is ready to use out of the box, without requiring a smartphone, app or Bluetooth or WiFi connection.
100Plus is providing expedited shipping of all its remote monitoring devices to help reduce risk during the COVID-19 crisis. But the company expects remote monitoring to be a staple of care delivery as the senior population continues to grow.
The most recent LZ200 technology survey found about 20% of the nation’s largest senior care providers were already using some type of remote monitoring service as of late 2018.
And late that year, Medicare plans started reimbursing for RPM devices and services, as well as paying healthcare providers to review data streamed from the devices.
