By 2024, about 30 million US patients will be using remote patient monitoring solutions according to Business Insider. A 2021 MSI International survey also shows that 80% of the US population are positive about using remote patient monitoring while 50% want to see RPM incorporated into medical care. People asked and healthcare firms delivered. The GVR research predicts an insane 20.2% CAGR of the RPM software market between 2022 and 2030.
There are thousands of businesses competing in the remote patient tracking system development race but not all of them will reach the finish line. Binariks experts created this guide for you to create a flawless RPM solution and be mentioned among the winners.
What are the benefits of remote patient monitoring software for healthcare businesses?
The MSI International report says that 43% of users appreciate clinical remote monitoring systems for their convenience, 39% for efficiency, and 37% for control over personal health. So what advantages does remote patient monitoring software development bring to healthcare providers? Here are a couple of benefits remote patient monitoring app development yields.
Cost efficiency: Pay $6,500 less per patient per year
“Overall, it’s estimated that widespread adoption of remote patient monitoring could save the US as much as $6 billion annually,”
Executive director of the Global Coalition on Aging
Yes, building remote patient monitoring software requires time and investments but it reduces the number of human-operated processes including in-hospital appointments. So by building a patient tracking system in hospital, you decrease the workload of your hospital staff.
"Multiple studies have shown that building remote patient monitoring software reduces costs and improves health outcomes,” says, Michael Hodin, relying on the Veterans Health Administration, which concludes that RPM “can reduce hospitalizations by as much as 40% for some diseases, and realize annual savings of $6,500 per patient.
Healthcare companies can reduce labor and equipment upkeep budgets by developing remote patient monitoring systems. Healthcare providers decrease the number of in-hospital visits while also lightening the strain on their staff. Additionally, remote tracking is frequently carried out using patients' gadgets, which unloads the equipment of a healthcare professional.
Better patient outcomes: 5% reduction in patient readmissions
There are plenty of documented cases that prove that building a patient tracking system in hospitals increases ROI . The Cloud DX’s Connected Health Kit case only proves the point: “Results revealed that virtual care prevented and resolved 24% more medication errors during patient care transitions than the standard care cohort. Patients under virtual care also reported 10-14% less pain. With 5% fewer patients returning to the hospital compared to standard care, the study indicated a possibility of reducing re-admissions and emergency visits.
Simply put, the healthcare providers that generate higher rates of positive patient outcomes automatically attract the attention of potential clients.
With a wireless patient monitoring device, doctors get regular information on their patient's health, increasing their chances of spotting dangerous signs early. It enables them to promptly respond with primary care to new health problems and avert emergency scenarios.
Improved quality of service: 43% of patients appreciate the convenience
Virtually every industry has gone digital and healthcare is no exception to the rule. People want to manage their health from the convenience of their smartphones and computers. Having direct access to their healthcare providers enhances their sense of security.
Patients understand that their health is permanently observed and attended to. When doctors have access to health data, they can develop personalized approaches and drive better healthcare results. This trend stimulates clinics to create remote patient monitoring platforms.
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Management optimization
With remote monitoring healthcare solutions, medical providers can optimize the schedules of their practitioners. Doctors are no longer overloaded with appointments, which improves their efficiency. Also, RPM systems enhance patients’ accountability: practitioners can retrieve valuable information from hospital management software.
Better chronic disease prevention and management
Is there a way to reduce inpatient care costs that building patient tracking system in hospital? One of the approaches is to create a health tracking system and take of people without hospitalization. Patients can monitor their own glucose levels and hypertension symptoms with RPM solutions. As a result, they decrease the risk of developing chronic diseases.
Remote patient monitoring system development allows hospitals to manage the most costly chronic conditions treatment which amounts to hundreds of billion dollars each year.
Disease | Cost per year |
Prediabetes | $43.4 billion |
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) | $49 billion |
Heart failure | $53 billion |
Chronic kidney disease | $81.8 billion |
Hypertension | $91.4 billion |
Diabetes | $327 billion |
Obesity | $147 billion |
Promotional opportunities
Remote patient monitoring app development has great market potential. It increases a patient’s awareness of a provider. Medical apps for patients can advertise specific services and provide patients with service recommendations. They can also increase a healthcare provider’s online visibility by enhancing its presence on the Internet and generating additional traffic.
Promotion is an essential part of the healthcare industry. remote patient monitoring system development offers a lot of marketing possibilities. It makes a physician more visible to a patient. Patients might receive service suggestions from medical applications that market specific providers. By boosting a healthcare provider's online presence and driving more visitors, they may help raise its online exposure.
Increased security in the age of pandemic
During the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of people and hundreds of occupations have moved from in-premise to remote mode of work. In many cases, while visiting a hospital, patients risk contracting a disease. Knowing that healthcare providers turned to remote patient monitoring app development to reduce the risks and decrease the workload for staff and practitioners.
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What are the in-demand types of RPM software?
RPM technology was widely accepted during the pandemic and is now applied to meet versatile requirements.
- Telehealth solutions allow patients to communicate with practitioners without going to the hospital. These solutions include such functions as file exchange, teleconferencing, and instant messaging. It’s traditionally used in therapy, rehabilitation, ophthalmology, and dermatology.
- IoMT-based applications use medical devices that are either installed on patient’s smartphones or embedded in medical devices. These devices monitor patient health metrics at home through IoT technology.
- Electronic data capture solutions are used to identify health conditions and subjective feelings such as pain levels.
Common types of remote patient monitoring devices
Now that you know what impact remote patient monitoring app development can have on your business, let’s try and understand which types of data an RPM system can read from patients remotely. RPM devices are classified according to their purpose. Here are the most widely distributed types of remote patient monitoring devices:
Cardiac monitoring devices
The majority of people can check their heart rate exclusively in medical facilities. In the US, the annual cost of cardiac disease treatment amounts to $53 billion. And it’s quite complicated to spot the early signs of heart-related health issues without constant control.
That’s why cardiac monitoring devices are a great alternative to the more occasional check-outs. They provide both patients and doctors with up-to-date information about the state of the patient’s heart. Thus, practitioners can both track how specific activities impact heart rate and adjust the treatment plan accordingly.
Blood glucose monitoring device
Diabetes is one of the most frequently diagnosed health conditions which requires constant observation. This type of RPM device helps people track their glucose fluctuations and share the information with their doctors. When a patient uses a blood glucose monitoring device, the information is collected at a specific time and sent directly to practitioners.
Hand hygiene monitoring systems
Washing our hands is an easy way to avoid contracting Covid-19. This type of RPM isn’t, however, limited to hand hygiene. Hand hygiene monitoring systems can also provide both ordinary citizens and healthcare practitioners with information about other hygiene practices.
Depression and mood monitoring devices
Detecting depression in the early stage is quite tricky. To do that, we need to put people under continuous observation. Depression and mood monitoring devices accompanied by telehealth systems simplify the task. They measure and monitor physiological parameters associated with mood swings. The software gathers data on heart rate, or even eye movement, and blood pressure. All that data goes directly to practitioners and doctors who use it to detect potential depression symptoms.
Technologies assisting people with COPD and asthma
People diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or asthma experience sudden attacks and have to use inhalers. To avoid the attacks and potential triggers, people use software that reminds them to use inhalers. The reminders are based on the doctor’s recommendations to help patients keep up with the schedule.
Remote patient monitoring solutions can also track data on attack frequency and even grasp the environmental changes that trigger them.
Pregnancy monitoring systems
The pregnancy monitoring systems collect data about the mother’s and child’s health. It’s vital to track these data units since the slightest fluctuations in blood pressure or weight can cause an adverse effect on both.
Sensors for digestive systems
You can use portable ingestible sensors to collect information from the digestive system and send it directly to the healthcare provider. What can they measure? They have a wide field of applications: you can detect internal bleeding or indicate high stomach PH levels.
Types of remote patient monitoring apps
In fact, if you want to build a patient remote monitoring system, you can take inspiration from a wide range of solutions that monitor health conditions remotely.
- IoT medical application. The wearables for heart attack prevention, glucose trackers, etc., gather vital information about health and generate alerts in emergency cases. That's why you should consider making an Internet of Things (IoT) solution compatible with a wide range of wearable medical devices.
- Questionnaire application. Some patients respond better to questionnaires and share their current data health willingly. They are especially successful in tracking mental illnesses and depression. In fact, questionnaires are one of the easiest medical solutions from the perspective of remote patient monitoring app development. They are quite undemanding: they require zero purchases from providers.
- Video conferencing applications. The remote patient monitoring software development of video conferencing apps has a bunch of invaluable functions. It can be used for examinations, appointments, and prescribing drugs without commuting. You can also extend the videoconferencing app's features by adding queue management, electronic medical records, billing, conferencing for doctors, etc.
- Precision medicine solution. This type of remote patient monitoring app is used for research. In essence, they anonymize the health data of participants and represent it in an analytical report.
Binariks is an experienced tech partner with extensive experience in remote patient monitoring app development , healthcare interoperability solutions , healthcare cloud solutions , telemedicine software development , and custom healthcare software development in its broad meaning.
We will help implement cutting-edge solutions that will bring you above the competition.
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What remote patient monitoring technologies trends we'll see in 2023?
There are two large trends taking place in the RPM industry at the same time. The first one is the transition to value-based, patient-centric care and outcomes. Both clinics and patients want to use their funds to address health issues in a more personalized way. The second trend is the aging population vulnerable to pandemics and chronic diseases.
These major trends give a way to precision medicine, predictive analytics , IoT , and machine learning. Here are some interesting statistics on the growth of each tech remote patient monitoring technologies trends for 2023 and beyond in healthcare:
Predictive analytics and big data
The global predictive analytics market is now worth $9.5 billion according to Acumen Research and Consulting. By 2030, the market is expected to reach $87.5 billion with a CAGR of 28.2%. One of the most straightforward ways to use predictive analytics is to make forecasts of healthcare demand.
Healthcare providers will use big data analysis to gather and analyze information on a much bigger population base. This will open up new ways for investigation and treatment options.
By gathering big data and running predictive analytics, healthcare providers are preparing to handle the following issues:
- Preventing readmissions
- Forecast appointment no-shows
- Speed up insurance claims submission
- Detect health issues at early stages
- Enhance cybersecurity
- Managepopulation health
- Increase patient engagement and outreach
- Predict suicide attempts
This trend doesn't exist in a vacuum. It needs data, a lot of health data gathered from millions of users and operated in a secure and ethical way. That's where we need to talk about our next tech trend in remote patient management – the Internet of Things.
Internet of things and sensor-rich wearables
By 2027, the global internet of things in the healthcare market is predicted to grow from $113.75 billion in 2019 to $332.67 billion. The CARG of 13.20%. You already know that IoT in healthcare heavily relies on wearables and various health data devices. The application of IoT healthcare wearables will only grow in the following years.
In 2023, we will see more clinics integrating IoT systems connected to sensor-rich gadgets that tirelessly read, track, and analyze the health data of each patient.
Many healthcare providers enhance their remote health monitoring system through IoT integrations and you can, too. Book a meeting with our tech specialists and we will help you bring your IoT healthcare solution to life.
What are the 4 key components of remote patient monitoring platforms?
We're getting closer to answering how to build a remote patient monitoring system. First, let's take a look at the key components your system should include and how they interact with one another.
Remote patient monitoring system
This system connects the medical device that gathers health data and sends it to the healthcare provider. Mind that the FDA authorizes only wireless, non-invasive tools for remote patient management including electronic thermometers, electrocardiographs (ECGs), cardiac monitors, apnea monitors, spirometers, oximeters, audiometers, electroencephalographs (EEGs), cardiac monitors, breathing frequency monitors, etc.
Patient mobile app
The patient-facing mobile application's function is to gather the data from wearables and sensors and send it to the hospital staff. Because the patient-facing mobile app operates with health data, it should meet the strict criteria: comply with HIPAA regulations, support BLE for exchanging the data between devices, secure API integrations, etc.
What can a patient mobile app contain? You can enrich your app functionality by adding various data visualization, providing educational information, sending reminders, sharing medical questionnaires, and, what's most important, adding video, audio, or chat to let patients communicate with their doctors.
Cloud repository
Cloud database that receives and stores the raw health data collected from the patient-facing mobile apps. It's not mandatory to use a cloud repository since some systems allow direct-to-cloud connectivity for devices. Thus, a patient doesn't need to use a dedicated mobile app.
Hospital web application
Just like mobile apps, hospital apps work with electronic health information, hence, have to comply with the HIPAA requirements. What's more, a hospital’s EMR system and RPM web platform have to be integrated via FHIR-based API to improve interoperability. As a rule, a hospital-facing app usually includes individual modules for decision support, reporting, notifications, and analytics.
What aspects should you consider before building RPM software?
There are a couple of things you need to attend to before you begin the remote patient monitoring system development process. For instance, you need to make sure that the PRM system is powered with reliable and up-to-date software and hardware; make sure that there's an uninterrupted connection with hospital management software that will ensure quick data transmission; establish the highest possible security measures for patient's private data and health information.
Building remote patient monitoring software in-house will require a lot of your time, effort, and money. To save a bit of the latter, you should follow the next essential remote patient monitoring system development steps.
- Business analysis that results in the composition of a requirements list
- Create a prototype of your RPM solution
- Launch UI and UX design initiatives
- Set up remote patient monitoring software development, testing, and deployment processes
- Organize RPM solution maintenance and innovation initiatives
Tech-wise, you'll also need to pick the most suitable stack of technologies to create a health tracking system. Kotlin, Swift, Node.js, React, and Java are among the most widely-used ones but you should stick with the ones that match the project requirements, scope, and preferences.
What you certainly should do is address experienced tech partners who know how to build a remote patient monitoring system when you find yourself all at loss.
Inspirational list of features for your remote patient health monitoring system
There are plenty of features you can implement in your RPM system. Some of them are quite basic while others serve more specific requests. Here is an inspiration list of the features that you can add to your solution.
Data analytics and reporting |
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Patient-doctor online communication |
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Patient data security |
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Real-time patient health tracking |
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IoT-based monitoring of RPM devices |
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Accessibility features |
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How to implement RPM software in your business processes?
Now let’s talk about some practical things that you should implement in your business model to incorporate RPM software into your system with ease.
- Ensure robust data security
We can’t overstate the importance of data security in RPM solutions. First, it’s one of the major requirements of the HIPAA rule. As an authorized party that operates with electronic health data, you are responsible for the consequences of data breaches.
What do we mean when we say “robust data security”? In essence, it means that every element of the data exchange process must be physically and virtually secured. Electronic health information is more expensive than credit card information, hence, it’s targeted twice as frequently.
The HIPAA interoperability regulation says that only those healthcare providers and third-party administrators that comply with regulations can use (read receive, send, and exchange) health data. So you should transform all internal business processes according to HIPAA requirements before you integrate an RPM into your system.
- Comply with the country-specific regulations
There are different regulations in digital healthcare in the EU, the US, China, India, etc. To be short, you will need to comply with the local regulations if you have no integrations with TPAs located outside that country. And if your solution will operate globally, you will have to adjust it according to global regulations.
The two major healthcare data migration standards in the US are HL7 FHIR and USCDI.
- Enable interoperability
Interoperability in healthcare solutions is a top-tier requirement. In order to enable interoperability between all parts of your system, you should make sure that you follow these steps to meet regulatory requirements in healthcare interoperability:
- Determine what healthcare interoperability standards apply to your business
- Review your existing systems for features that do not comply with interoperability regulation
- Build your interoperability strategy
- Align interoperability plans with the required functionalities
- Publish the required APIs
- Enable data exchange between within and outside your RPM system
- Implement the HL7 FHIR standard
- Structure data according to standard terminologies
- Enable top-notch security practices for sensitive data
- Establish a consent management process
- Implement auditing and testing tools for your software
4. Collect your requirements
Make sure that you know what you expect from the RPM system. Envision the problem your RPM will be handling and the final value it delivers. This will help you adjust the way your business processes run now and how you can adjust them before the RPM is up and running.
Also, this would simplify your cooperation with a tech partner in the early stages. You’ll be able to list the top functions for proof of concept development and significantly simplify the job for the discovery team.
5. Development and Integration
Make a plan on how you will connect different online and offline modules of your system. Contrary to popular opinion, you can gradually implement parts of your RPM solution into your business. To conduct the transition with minimal effort and issues, you will need to analyze what should be done first, second, and third.
What's the development team composition for your RPM platform?
The remote patient monitoring system development process requires the involvement of a number of tech specialists. The team setup fluctuates depending on the functionality of the RPM system. Basic team composition includes
- Back-end engineers
- Front-end engineers
- Mobile app programmer
- Embedded system developer
- Business analyst
- Solution architect
- Quality assurance experts
- DevOps engineer
- UI/UX designer
- Project manager
The visualization of the building remote patient monitoring software development process looks like this:
The companies that haven’t got all the necessary talent in-house usually delegate the remote patient monitoring app development to tech partners like Binariks. It’s vital that the contractor company has both a deep understanding of HIPAA regulation and technological excellence.
How can Binariks help create a remote patient monitoring platform?
Binariks has a track record of delivering interoperable healthcare solutions that comply with the HIPAA standard. Our offering isn’t limited to remote patient monitoring software development. We can also help you create custom turn-key healthcare interoperability, cloud, and telemedicine solutions.
So why work with Binariks? Here are five good reasons to consider launching remote patient tracking system development with us.
- Our experts have a thorough grasp of the HIPAA standard and will pick tech stacks that enable it. We are a certified AWS Select Consulting Partner, a Gold Microsoft Partner, and a Google Cloud Partner, one of the 1000 top Clutch remote patient monitoring software providers.
- We provide full-cycle remote patient monitoring app development capabilities including project managers, BA, QA, DevOps engineers, software programmers, architecture, and designers.
- Our tech experts provide realistic time/cost estimates for developing unique RPM apps due to their experience and understanding of the development process.
- We guarantee transparency and engagement enabled through a clear action plan, dedicated project managers, and constant communication.
- We have access to a big pool of tech talent and can expand teams when necessary. With us, you can work with world-class talents without extending your in-house programming crew.
We have a track record of delivering successful projects for healthcare providers. Here is a couple of them.
Web platform for patient monitoring and management
We helped a company with an AWS-powered platform integrated with several third-party products scale the solution. Binariks team helped the client compose the right architecture for the optimized application.
The solution stimulates communication between doctors and patients and records data from wearable tracking devices to simplify primary care. In addition, the client works with insurers and governmental agencies to reimburse Medicare supplied to beneficiaries automatically.
We used our technical expertise to deliver an architecture that would process increasing volumes of patients’ data; the engineers also improved the code repository and enhanced the stability and security of the solution, and optimized the CI/CD procedure to speed up the development lifecycle. The cherry on top was streamlining the insurance reimbursement process for governmental agencies.
Web platform and mobile application with a CRM
We helped a company that specializes in non-emergency medical transportation benefits simplify the process of integrating their solution with third-party administrators. Another part of our collaboration covered the engineering of centralized storage to support key business processes including information of vendors, health care information, services provided, insurance, and claims.
Our team conducted a detailed analysis, crafted, and implemented the renovation plan. As a result, we helped the client’s solution comply with HIPAA regulation through FHIR standard , facilitate integration with third-party systems, ensure stable solution performance, and activate Transport Security TLS 1.2.
Here’s a full list of success stories and healthcare solutions we’ve provided over the years. We can help you create your RPM application, integrate it with other services, implement IoT technologies, add AI and ML-driven analytics, and do many other things. Drop us a message about your product and we’ll get back to you pronto!
