Healthcare's embrace of digital transformation greatly expanded medical staff's capabilities. Remote patient monitoring, as the name implies, enables providers to monitor patients' conditions from a distance in real time, and even react depending on the setup (e.g., emergencies). Artificial intelligence looks to expand RPM capabilities even further.
What is Remote Patient Monitoring? (RPM)
Remote patient monitoring is a form of telemedicine designed to collect patient healthcare data like heart rate and oxygen levels. RPM is usually done at the patient's dwelling place, whether their residence or home healthcare facility. The gathered data is transmitted to their provider and other medical staff, who are usually located miles away at a clinic or hospital.
For providers, the strengths of RPM are numerous.
- Collect and provide real-world data. Traditionally, clinicians check patients' conditions during office visits, possibly once a week or monthly. Through RPM, providers can continuously observe how their patients' conditions change in real-time.
- Allow rapid intervention. Since RPM systems operate 24/7, they can alert medical staff when a patient's health worsens, giving them ample time to intervene, like sending first responders to the patient's home.
- Serve rural communities. RPMs allow clinicians to monitor patients living in out-of-the-way locations like rural areas. Also benefiting from the technology are non-mobile patients, like people with paraplegia or the very elderly.
- Handle more patients without loss of quality. RPM is usually monitored by medical staff, such as nurses or physician assistants, who alert the provider if there's an issue of concern. Thus, providers can manage more patients while maintaining a high care level.
It's not just the providers who benefit from RPM. Patients also benefit.
- Real-time monitoring of condition. The various RPM tools allow patients to track their conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, low sugar, etc.) continuously.
- Educational opportunity. Medical staff can educate patients about their conditions, showing how their care plans affect RPM data as they work (or don't).
- Protection from infectious diseases and HAIs. Patients like the elderly, chronically ill, pregnant, or immunocompromised, are vulnerable to pathogens like hospital-acquired infections. With RPM, patients do not have to visit the hospital or clinic, minimizing any risk of infection from the facilities.
- Caregiver involvement. Caregivers for patients have greater investment when given access to the patient's vital sign recordings and progress on a medical computer tablet. They can assist in implementing the provider's plans, for example, and monitor the effects through the RPM tools. Such information can also be vital if they’re questioned about the patient's health or if there's an emergency.
Reduce expenses. RPM allows patients to avoid the expense and effort involved in medical office visits (i.e., transportation, parking, child care, taking time off from work, etc.). There are also no high costs from hospital stays and other such medical facilities.
Artificial Intelligence and RPM: Advantages and Benefits
At its simplest, AI allows computers to perform tasks typically done at human-level intelligence. Finding patterns in data, making predictions from that data, and suggesting actions based off such data are examples of the technology.
For remote patient monitoring, AI is aimed to:
- Increase data processing. AI is designed from the ground up to deal with enormous amounts of data. This makes it perfect to handle the data continuously gathered by RPM tools and devices.
- Provide a more accurate analysis. AI subsets like machine learning can recognize complex patterns and inconsistencies in RPM data that human eyes may miss.
- Improve real-time monitoring. AI does not become fatigued or call in sick. RPM devices monitor patients constantly in real-time for any major changes that may require medical staff to review.
- Optimize healthcare resources. The healthcare industry is hit hard with shortages, from medical facilities to providers and nursing staff. Predictive analytics from AI can ensure the right patients receive RPM equipment and resources like vital all-in-one medical PCs.
- Educate patients. AI-driven chatbots like ChatGPT can translate complex medical jargon for patients, helping them understand the data from their RPM devices as well as diagnoses from their providers.
Best Medical AI Computer for RPM
Medical AI box PCs are the best choice for medical groups looking to upgrade their remote patient monitoring systems with artificial intelligence. They have been built from the ground up to handle the sector's unique environment like 24/7 operation. Healthcare IT departments, when purchasing medical Ai computers, should be on the lookout for:
- AI-Enabled: Equipped with GPUs from NVIDIA to handle AI programs while a powerful CPU from Intel to run non-AI programs and hardware.
- Dust and Liquid Resistant: Preferably sealed IP65 to protect interior components.
- Medical Grade: Be certified IEC 60601 to operate safely around patients and medical devices.
- Efficient Cooling: Keep the PC interior cool while minimizing fan noise so as not to disturb the patient's rest.
- Flexible Mounting: VESA-standard so PC can be placed appropriately in patient's home: wall, table, workstation on wheel, etc.
- HIPAA-Compliant: Protect patient data privacy with features like RFID cards and Imprivata Single Sign-On.
- Legacy Compatibility: Continue access to older, non-supported medical equipment and hardware.
Let Cybernet Be Your AI Solution in Remote Patient Monitoring
RPM allows providers and medical staff to keep tabs on patient vitals 24/7 from a distance. Artificial intelligence looks to enhance the technology, from processing more patient data to answering patients' questions about their monitored conditions and treatments.
Contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing if your medical group is looking for AI solutions to elevate its RPM programs. Our team members will happily go over how our medical AI box PCs are the right fit, with features like NVIDIA GPUs and 60601-1 medical-grade certification. We can even customize our products further to your exact needs, having full control of our PCs as an Original Equipment and Design Manufacturer.