Remote Patient Monitoring and Its Benefits for Skilled Nursing Facilities

As you may know if you’ve been following The Nutritionist Reviews for awhile, I am registered dietitian that used to work at a skilled nursing facility. I am sharing this article about the importance in quality patient care in skilled nursing facilities.

Delivering quality, around-the-clock care is the utmost priority for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs)—and patients want to know that they can receive such care in a timely manner while maintaining the best quality of life. This isn’t always easy, as some SNFs may not have the resources to provide efficient and effective care for individuals with complex medical concerns. Remote patient monitoring (RPM), however, can help facilities improve operations and deliver fully-integrated care while being mindful of patient comfort and quality of life.

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RPM utilizes technology, including wearable and nonintrusive health tracking devices, to securely collect, record, and transmit patient information. With this data, healthcare providers can make more informed treatment decisions and reduce the amount of time patients spend at a clinic or doctor’s office. Examples of RPM devices include watches, patches, glucometers, pulse oximeters, and scales, all of which deliver patient vital signs to healthcare providers via a Bluetooth-connected application. Some wearables even track patient movement and medication adherence.

Better Care and Comfort

It’s imperative for SNFs to have RPM technology in place to allow patients flexible treatment options without sacrificing quality of care. With RPM tools, providers can track everything from a patient’s weight and activity levels to their blood pressure and heart and respiratory rate.

While it was a small study, the randomized controlled trial “Hospital-Level Care at Home for Acutely Ill Adults,” published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in January 2020, highlights the benefits and potential of RPM. The trial involved 91 adults admitted to the emergency room with acute conditions, 48 of which received continued care in a hospital setting while the others were treated at home. Usual care patients required more laboratory orders, imaging studies, and consultations than home care patients and were readmitted more frequently within 30 days.

While the RPM space is still evolving, there are already companies with innovative platforms and a massive reach. TapestryHealth, an AI-powered multi-specialty healthcare company, recently received a $25 million credit investment from Catalio Capital Management. Its healthcare solutions, according to CEO Mark Hirschhorn, support more than 75,000 residents in SNFs.

Improved Resource Management and Collaboration

RPM can also help SNFs enhance resource management, improve healthcare team collaboration, and reduce costs. Medical providers can keep tabs on a patient’s vitals and track other important health data through connected devices and a coordinating technology platform.

With the need for fewer face-to-face interactions between staff and patients, SNFs can better coordinate their resources to provide specialized care to patients who need it the most without sacrificing quality of care to remote patients. For example, rather than scheduling a check-up, a nurse may notice a patient with high blood glucose levels and consult with a physician to determine if a change in prescription is required. Moreover, SNFs can save on fixed office costs with fewer patients on site.

Cross-Infection Control

Many hospitals dealt with overcrowding and staff shortages during the pandemic which, in addition to impacting quality of care, may have impacted the consistency of sanitizing and cleaning procedures. These are important considerations to protect against healthcare-associated infections (HAI), which already affected more than 680,000 people in 2015 and have increased since the onset of the pandemic. Tens of thousands of patients die every year after developing a HAI while being treated at a hospital. According to The Leapfrog Group, inpatients at US hospitals contracted MRSA and bloodstream infections two to three times as often as predicted by federal health officials from 2021-22. The average risk of contracting these infections reached a five-year high during the pandemic.

RPM connected technology allows medical staff to deliver quality care from remote settings with fewer socializations, decreasing risk of HAIs. The technology also frees up more time for critical prevention practices, including properly sanitizing medical equipment.

How TapestryHealth Is Transforming Patient Care

TapestryHealth offers a suite of technology solutions that allows SNFs and other post-acute facilities to provide integrated, around-the-clock care to each resident. Utilizing the company’s AI and machine learning technologies, along with 24/7 telemedicine care, providers can implement proactive healthcare solutions. The result is better patient care and fewer hospital readmissions. Tapestry’s AI data and analytics solutions can accurately forecast patient decline as much as 72 hours in advance, allowing providers to focus resources on patients with a higher risk of hospitalization.

“Tapestry’s innovative AI-powered insights provide clinicians with novel tools that increase efficiency and deliver vastly improved patient care and outcomes,” notes Mark Hirschhorn. Tapestry’s solutions provide a safety net that enhances care for residents of SNFs.