While there has been steady growth in telemedicine visits in the past decade, the last 2 years have seen an explosion in the use of telemedicine. However, for most providers, you can only do so much with telemedicine. There are many times when I would love to be able to get some more data than can be seen on a video monitor.
This is why I was excited to see an article, entitled “Remote Monitoring of Patient and Family Generated Health Data in Pediatrics,” which is being early released by Pediatrics this week. This article by Dr. Carolyn Foster and colleagues at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Mercy Clinic in St. Louis is one of the popular State of the Art Review articles that we feature monthly in the journal (10.1542/peds.2021-054137).
Remote patient monitoring involves the collection and transmission of individual health data from a patient to the health care team, using technologies such as wearable sensors, smartphone apps, and the like. Up to now, data collected in this way have not been widely adapted in pediatrics.
In this State-of-the-Art Review, you will learn about the current status and potential of remote patient monitoring. There is so much that is possible – and it could be revolutionary for our patients with chronic health conditions or medical complexity!
There are also details that need to be considered if you plan to implement more remote patient monitoring in your practice, including;
- How do you assure reliability of the data? For instance, how do you know that it was the patient who stepped on the weight scale and not a sibling?
- What happens when an abnormal result is received? How often are providers expected to be reviewing the data, particularly during nights, weekends, and holidays?
- How do we ensure that privacy is maintained? What are other privacy issues that we may not have thought of?
- What are the reimbursement models?
Additionally, lack of adequate internet access may be a barrier and may create additional disparities as the technology continues to advance.
My mind was spinning as I was reading this article – so many aspects to consider! But this is a good thing. As remote patient monitoring becomes more and more of a possibility for our patients, we will need to begin planning and piloting implementation plans. Reading this article will provide ideas for where to start.
