Remote Patient Monitoring Companies: A Complete Guide

This guide gives you a complete overview of remote patient monitoring, including what it is, how it works, and its main challenges.

What is remote patient monitoring?

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a technology that uses mobile medical devices to collect patients’ health information outside of hospitals and clinics. Through this method, healthcare professionals can remotely monitor patients’ medical status and analyze the data provided.

The devices can collect information regarding the patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure, as well as other measurements like weight and body temperature. Then, the data provided is sent to the doctor via computers or mobile devices through a telehealth computer system or software application.

The significance of RPM in modern healthcare has been rising year after year, as it allows patients to be assisted from home. Not only does it reduce the risk of the patient being infected or infecting others during an in-person visit to the hospital or clinic, but it also allows patients who live in underserved areas to be cared for.

Moreover, as it’s set to each patient’s specific needs according to their health conditions, RPM allows for more personalized – therefore efficient – healthcare assistance.

Is remote patient monitoring telehealth?

RPM isn’t the same as telehealth, but a derivation of it. On one hand, RPM constantly monitors and collects patients’ health data through devices and wearables. On the other hand, telehealth includes several telecommunication technologies and services that provide medical assistance when in-person attention isn’t needed or possible. These technologies include video and phone calls and secure messaging platforms.

Types of remote patient monitoring devices

Numerous devices can be used in remote patient monitoring services. Some of them are:

• Blood pressure monitors connect to the patient’s mobile device to transmit readings to an app.
• Pulse oximeters are widely used to measure oxygen saturation levels in the blood and heart rate of patients with respiratory conditions.
• Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers use sensors to measure the wearer’s heart rate, steps taken, sleep patterns, and more.
• ECG monitors keep track of the heart’s electrical activity to identify cardiac abnormalities.
• Glucose monitors can connect to mobile devices to provide blood sugar readings.
• Smart scales can track changes in weight and body composition.

When looking for devices to assist remote patient monitoring, be sure to confirm whether they’re FDA-approved, which depends on their brand and model.

Why use remote patient monitoring?

RPM has become increasingly popular in the U.S., and statistics show that 80% of Americans are in favor of using this type of monitoring. Some reasons that contribute to this popularity are:

• Patients can be assisted from their homes, preventing them from getting infected or infecting others during visits to the hospital.
• RPM has significantly improved the lives of patients who require constant medical attention, including those who suffer from chronic diseases, need post-discharge monitoring, or require senior care.
• Patients are cared for without needing to be in a healthcare facility, allowing them and their families to enjoy the comfort of their homes while still having specialists keep track of their medical data.

What are the problems with remote patient monitoring?

Although remote patient monitoring can improve people’s quality of life in countless ways, some challenges may arise during the process.

• Older adults or less tech-savvy patients may struggle to set up and use monitoring devices and apps, leading to unreliable data collection.
• Cybercriminals may target sensitive health data, so it’s crucial to ensure that the patient’s privacy and data security is protected. Plus, the provider must be HIPAA compliant.
• Real-time data access requires constant connectivity, so internet connection issues may disrupt the system, which wouldn’t happen in a specialized healthcare environment.
• The costs of having a remote patient monitoring system may scale up quickly. Depending on each patient’s needs, the costs may include devices, software, licenses, and healthcare specialist services.

Still, the benefits of using RPM services certainly offset these drawbacks. Special training and constant patient support, robust security measures to protect their data, reliable and strong internet connection, and appropriate health insurance are ways to overcome these challenges.

5 factors to consider when choosing an RPM company

When choosing a RPM company for you or your loved one, it’s important to consider the following:

1. Compatibility with existing healthcare systems: make sure the RPM service expenses are covered by your current healthcare insurance or government assistance like Medicare and Medicaid.
2. Reputation and reliability: look for companies experienced in remote patient monitoring and evaluate the quality and reliability of the devices they offer. Plus, check if the devices are accurate and user-friendly.
3. Security and HIPAA compliance: ensure that the company is strict with data protection and complies with security protocols and regulations, such as HIPAA.
4. Customization and flexibility: check if the company offers customizable solutions that can adapt to your health requirements as they evolve.
5. Customer support: be sure to check out which ways the company supports users in troubleshooting issues or answering questions regarding the devices and software used.

Does medicare cover remote patient monitoring?

Yes, Medicare covers the total costs of RPM services for most patients, except for Medicare B patients, who must still pay 20% of the costs.

Keep in mind that Medicare refers to RPM as ‘remote physiologic monitoring’ in their coding and billing language. The term is a set of codes used to describe remote monitoring and analysis of physiologic factors to understand a patient’s health status.

How to bill remote patient monitoring

Each health insurance company specifies its own payment policies for remote patient monitoring.

The terms that patients and caregivers need to adhere to for billing RPM vary depending on the healthcare system. Some guidelines include:

Billing for medicare

• A patient-physician relationship must be established.
• Patients are allowed to give consent to receive remote physiologic monitoring at the time the services are provided.

Billing for CPT codes 99453 and 99454 includes other specific guidelines. We’ve listed some of them below:

• The physiologic data must be collected electronically and automatically uploaded to a safe location where the billing practitioner will analyze it.
• The device used to collect and transmit the patient’s data must meet the FDA’s definition of a medical device.
• Auxiliary personnel may provide services as long as they’re under the supervision of the billing practitioner.

Billing for private insurance

Each insurance company has its own guidelines, so it’s necessary to ask for information about its specific billing and reimbursement policies.

Billing for medicaid

Billing for Medicaid depends on the state, as each one has its own RPM billing and reimbursement policies.