Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) is a hot topic in the healthcare industry, with many people discussing its potential benefits. However, we need to consider these benefits from different perspectives and examine how RTM can bring value to various stakeholders – patients, providers, payers and policymakers. As we’ve discussed on the podcast, we need to ask the question “Value to Whom?”
The Benefits of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring: Breaking it Down by Stakeholder
Remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) has quickly gained traction in the healthcare industry due to its ability to improve patient outcomes and streamline clinical workflows. But what are the benefits of using RTM, and how do these benefits vary for different stakeholders? As I mentioned before, we need to explore the advantages of remote therapeutic monitoring for payers, providers, patients, and policymakers.
Here’s a short video where I share my thoughts on this:
Benefits of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring for Providers: Revenue Generation and Patient Engagement
One major benefit of RTM for healthcare providers is increased revenue generation. Many clinics are already performing most of the work required to bill for remote therapy but aren’t capturing that potential income. By implementing RTM systems, providers can more easily document their services and increase billable units per patient or course of care.
Beyond financial gains, RTM also offers significant opportunities for improved patient engagement. Features like push notifications and real-time updates allow providers to remain connected with their patients even when they’re not physically present in a clinic setting. This enhanced communication can lead to improved adherence rates among patients who use remote therapeutic monitoring platforms as part of their treatment plan.
RTM Benefits for Patients: Increased Access and Motivation
Patient-centric features like secure messaging provide several key benefits from a user perspective as well. For one thing, increased access allows patients to get answers from their therapists without needing additional appointments – potentially saving time and money on unnecessary visits while reducing overall costs associated with treatment.
Data visualization tools incorporated into many RTM platforms offer another advantage by allowing patients to track their progress over time visually; seeing tangible improvements may help motivate them further through accountability measures built into these systems. Additionally, by incorporating remote therapeutic monitoring into treatment plans, providers may be able to taper down the frequency of in-person visits during later stages of recovery, saving patients even more time and money.
Benefits for Payers: Reduced Costs and Increased Efficiency
Payers also stand to benefit from RTM implementation through potential cost savings. By preventing unnecessary appointments or limiting the need for additional treatments (such as urgent care visits), remote therapeutic monitoring can help reduce overall healthcare expenditures. Additionally, increased access to care via secure messaging platforms means that many issues can be resolved without resorting to more costly interventions. For example, the increased access and communication between patient and provider afforded by RTM systems may prevent a patient from scheduling additional appointments, head to urgent care or an ER, or seek out higher level treatment.
Benefits of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring for Policymakers
Policymakers may find value in the data collected via these remote monitoring platforms as it provides insight into treatment adherence rates, documentation improvements, and outcomes related specifically with RTM use within various populations. With more research emerging over time, I think that policymakers will have an opportunity better understand where policy changes might be needed based on real-world evidence gathered through remote therapeutic monitoring platforms.
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A Comprehensive Approach to Evaluating Benefits
When considering the benefits of emerging technology like remote therapeutic monitoring, it’s essential to take a comprehensive approach that evaluates advantages based on each stakeholder’s perspective. To summarize:
- Payers: Save money by reducing unnecessary appointments and promoting efficient communication between providers and patients.
- Providers: Generate revenue while fostering better patient engagement through real-time updates and notifications.
- Patients: Benefit from improved access to care, potentially lower costs associated with treatment, increased motivation through progress tracking functionality, and reduced frequency of in-person visits when appropriate.
- Policymakers/Regulators: Access valuable data collected via RTM systems which can inform policy decisions about best practices within the industry; bolster documentation requirements for providers seeking reimbursement for their services.
In conclusion, remote therapeutic monitoring offers a range of benefits across various stakeholders within the healthcare landscape – ultimately leading towards improved patient outcomes and more efficient delivery models throughout the entire sector.
Summary
As I’ve said before, when considering the adoption of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring technology in healthcare settings, we must ask “benefits for whom?”. By examining each stakeholder’s perspective – providers gaining revenue opportunities and enhanced patient engagement; patients experiencing greater access at lower costs; payers saving expenses through reduced unnecessary visits; and policymakers obtaining valuable data insights – we uncover a well-rounded picture that demonstrates the immense potential held within this burgeoning field.
What are your thoughts on how RTM will benefit payers, patient, providers, and policy-makers?
For more content like this, check out our Insights Page and check out The Better Outcomes Show. Or if you want to humanize healthcare through your business or organization, learn how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help here! You can also schedule a call with Rafi to discuss your company’s positioning strategy and brainstorm a business development plan here. Check out Rafi’s latest book, Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare, on Amazon!
Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) is the Principal Owner of Rehab U Practice Solutions and the host of The Better Outcomes Show and the author of Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare. His career trajectory includes 10+ years of experience in healthcare management, clinical operations, programmatic development, marketing & business development. He even spent some time as an Assistant Professor in a Graduate Program of Occupational Therapy and has served on numerous boards and regulatory committees. He has worked on projects ranging from patient engagement initiatives to marketing communication campaigns to a multi million dollar project assisting the State of Georgia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities transition individuals out of state institutions to community residences. His work on Telehealth has been discussed in Forbes.
Today, Rafi helps innovative healthcare companies like technology startups, platforms, and SaaS companies develop effective positioning strategy and business development plans through his consulting work. He also leverages his experience as a professor and academic to speak and train on the topics around humanizing the healthcare experience. In addition, Rafi also owns and operates ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic treating patients with musculoskeletal pain.
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If you are an innovative healthcare company looking to humanize healthcare through direct service delivery, technology, a device, or software, then reach out. We'd love to talk with you about how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help.
What we can help you do:
✅ Clarify your product, service, or organization's positioning...
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We help you not only craft your positioning strategy, we help you identify your highest value offer for your target audience, align that value with your market, and help you develop a business development system that leverages insights from market data & industry-specific resources to enable your business development team to effectively drive business for your organization.
In short, we help your whole organization become focused on the most important thing in healthcare: people – the people who work for your organization, and the people who your organization treats or serves.
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