Choosing an RPM Platform to Improve Quality

Health care organizations seek a solution to help them track data, improve efficiency and engage patients across care settings and clinical risk levels. With the range of patient engagement and technology tools available, it’s essential to identify the ones that will complement your efforts to improve quality measures.  

Where do we start? What type of functionality is the most meaningful? How do we select vendors? These questions are common to stakeholders evaluating remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions to support virtual care delivery. Widespread RPM use cases include: 

· Post-hospitalization recovery for COVID-19 patients.
· Tracking medication adherence and vitals for high-risk populations.
· Diabetes monitoring.
· Post-operative cardiac monitoring.  

Understanding what your organization and population need can help you select a vendor and RPM program that fits your
clinical and operational workflows. But first, determine your objectives. They could be any or all of these—or something entirely different: 

· Better access to health care.
· Improved quality of care.
· Proactive monitoring.
· Improved support, education and feedback.
· Improved care team efficiency.
· Program performance. 

Next, think workflow and technology integration. Keep alignment with quality programs in mind: Using claims or gaps
in care reports can help prioritize, segment, engage and monitor patients efficiently while demonstrating improved health outcomes and patient experience. Also think about… 

Segmentation: How will you define eligibility for program participation, and how will you identify eligible patients? Consider your lines of business (Medicaid, Medicare, commercial). 

Marketing: How will your patients find out about your program? During office visits (or telemedicine visits), through phone made by staff or mailers you send? This is your opportunity to promote services that are relevant to your population. 

Enrollment: Ideally, the platform you select offers digital enrollment: Patients either self-enroll or let clinical staff enroll them. Format and delivery of information, services and equipment should be designed for maximum patient accessibility. 

Intervention: Whether it’s EHR integration or a secure clinical portal, you need a strategy for incorporating RPM data and surfacing it at the point of care to inform the treatment plan, follow-ups or escalation. Key to your success with the RPM workflow is integration with the care team. 

Support: As with any technical program, there must be transparent customer support. Experience with technology will influence its overall adoption and uptake, so it’s crucial that set-up and interaction with devices or solutions
are as seamless as possible. 

Now, let’s talk vendor selection. 

What functionality is essential for supporting your high-level workflows and population needs? In many cases, this is
something you’ll learn through product demos; for example:  

· Devices.
· Set-up and shipping services.
· Connectivity options (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, modem).
· Patient-facing applications.
· Messaging (chat, email, real-time videoconferencing).
· Educational content by condition.
· Care team communication tools.
· Screening and surveys.
· Backend-care management.
· Performance and billing reports, including detailed documentation. 

Selecting a vendor and seeking platforms with proven experience, clinical evidence and technical viability are important when choosing an RPM tool. At the heart of the process is aligning care delivery, patient needs and resources to ensure the tool’s adaptability and uptake.  

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the Community Forum.  

1. What RPM strategies has your organization implemented to advance population health activities, condition or medication management or quality improvement?  

2. What RPM functionality is most relevant to your organization for addressing population needs and quality gaps and meeting existing workflows? 

3. What clinical or operational challenges should health care stakeholders consider when integrating RPM into their quality program or population health management model?