Clinical Staff workflows are in peril in 2023. Burnout is taking root, which goes to show that many clinicians are biting off more than they chew. Statistics estimate that every 5 in 10 resident physicians have more on their shoulders in terms of workload than they should. With remote patient monitoring solutions, a lot of the burden can be passed onto a third party and thus decongest the workflow. That being said, here are a few crucial ways that RPM is helping to enhance the clinical workflow and provide reprieve for clinicians.
Improving Productivity with Virtual Appointments
With patient loads bulging and resources remaining static, it’s up to physicians to go the extra mile to meet the demands of their workload. Ideally, a physician should have a patient load of about 1,000. However, the American Association for Physician Leadership finds that physicians have to heave under 3x the patient load.
To ease the pressure, physicians today are imploring RPM and telehealth solutions to speed up appointments via virtual visits. In some cases, this entails the creation of virtual waiting rooms which work much the same way as in-person appointments, with the crucial difference being that everything happens virtually. Ultimately, this offers the following benefits for clinical staff:
- Fewer travel costs and effort
- Better time-efficiency
- Easier to track patient statuses and perform follow-ups
In a nutshell, this means less time and resource wastage for clinicians.
RPM Provides Real-Time Data to Bolster the Care Process
One of the standout facets of any remote patient monitoring system is the ability to retrieve patient data in real-time, through a variety of tools and technologies, usually cemented on the ever-reliable foundation of cloud computing.
At Aura Health, for example, we make real-time monitoring possible for physicians through a convenient portal powered by the cloud. Clinical staff can obtain intricate information, down to activity-level data, in real-time. In the long run, this means physicians are able to pick up on adverse events before they even have a chance to occur. This translates to more freed-up resources and time for clinical workers, which can be redirected to other tasks.
Beyond that, remote patient monitoring technology also provides in-depth analytics for every patient, usually complete with patient-centric reports. Eventually, RPM leads to the improvement of personalization of care which helps clinical workers to ensure more patient satisfaction and improve health outcomes as well.
Offering Diagnostic Assistance Through AI
Due to burnout, physical health challenges, and a burgeoning patient load among other issues, diagnoses can be delayed or error-prone. So much so that the Institute of Medicine estimates that over 12 million patients are affected by these diagnostic hiccups every year.
Remote patient monitoring can chip in to salvage the situation, more so as far as easing the clinical workflow is concerned. Computer or technology-aided diagnosis can help:
- Hasten turnaround time
- Achieve better diagnostic accuracy
- Lower the amount of manual work
- Enhance clinical decision making
As an example, some companies are offering AI-guided diagnostic support to assist with arrhythmia classification. Such systems can provide categorization hints to ECG technicians to ensure a quicker and more accurate diagnostic process. Overall, the outcome is not just improved patient treatment but also administrative time optimization.
RPM Smooths Over EMR Integration Hurdles
System integration has long been the Achilles heel in terms of unifying care across new and legacy technological islands. Traditionally, this has resulted in the isolation of EHR platforms, creating a situation where clinicians have to replicate medical data afresh and learn new EMR systems across different facilities. The right remote patient monitoring solution can solve this through unifying technology that avoids all this extra work and strain. With Aura Health Solutions remote patient monitoring solution, there’s an option to integrate with any EMR solution. Clinicians can hit the ground running without having to deal with duplicate work or the often-steep learning curve of new and complex software solutions.
It Strengths Relationships Between Clinicians and Patients
The majority of people are not confident in the relationship they share with their doctors, according to a report by Businesswire. Their survey finds that 7 in 10 people are not completely content with the doctor-patient relationship. Moreover, 15% of the sample group defined this relationship as “unemotional and cold.”
If clinicians are to improve doctor-patient relationships, they should start by first avoiding seeing a patient as just another number and instead putting a face to the crowd. Remote patient monitoring affords the data and personalization that makes this possible.
Ultimately, clinicians have the following to gain by strengthening bonds with their patients:
- Improved loyalty to the facility and physician
- Better treatment adherence and patient well being
- Improved health outcomes
RPM unfastens the door for shared decision-making and open, two-way communication between patients and clinicians. Consequently, it helps achieve a more efficient and effective clinical workflow.
RPM Can Increase Clinician Remuneration
Remote patient monitoring can also improve a hospital’s or practice’s net patient revenue. It achieves more profit for the care facility by reducing administrative costs, bumping up workflow output, and even paving the way for additional funding via RPM reimbursements.
The clinical workflow that leverages RPM stands to bring in about $150 to $210 more in net patient revenue, due to program compensations from the government, and even private insurers. With some clinicians paid commissions for their work, this directly means a more lucrative pay package for the staff in question. Even for resident physicians, a healthier bottom line more often than not also means better remuneration in terms of bonuses.
Conclusion
As we’ve discussed today, RPM can unlock the clinical workflow in several ways. Crucially, it enables a data-driven approach that delivers more value and better treatment. Physicians can also wash their hands off iterative tasks while they may also be able to enjoy better productivity and remuneration. Remote patient monitoring is subsequently the way to go to enhance any clinical workflow. A view cemented by MSI International reports which find that 80% of patients vouch for RPM and are strongly for its inclusion into standard care protocols. If you’d like to take your clinical workflow to the next level, contact Aura Health now for the best-in-class RPM solutions.
is Aura’s proprietary digital healthcare platform
