The importance of patient engagement in a successful Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program

RPM programs continuously track patients’ important vitals using cellular-connected devices and keep providers informed of important changes and trends in patient health. A successful RPM program, however, must go beyond simply having the devices to monitor patients’ health status and data. Robust patient engagement is needed to drive successful use of RPM programs, and increase patient satisfaction. Medical practices and providers often think they have the structure in place to easily start new patient monitoring and support programs, like RPM. In reality having a comprehensive and successful Remote Patient Monitoring program (or other patient support programs like CCM), requires sophisticated software and sufficient, scalable staffing to educate and engage patients. Medsien staff’s engagement, continuous education, outreach, and support – along with well-designed and integrated systems – are the important distinctions of not only having an RPM program but also engaging patients to be impactful in their health by keeping everything on track, which yields successful and long-lasting programs.  

At Medsien, dedicated staff initiates the relationship with outreach to patients at the onset  – getting consent and enrolling eligible patients. Patients eligible for RPM are often very ill from chronic conditions and are usually just post-hospitalization.  Medsien ensures device connectivity, and completes all device set up prior to shipping the “ready to go” devices to patients’ homes. This eliminates connectivity concerns and demands (like wifi and set up), and removes time-consuming device registration and set up for patients or their caregivers. Upon receipt of the device, patients/caregivers are ready to go. Our systems are designed so ongoing supply needs are automatically sent directly to patients, based on their usage, on a regular schedule.

In addition to that, Medsien staff contact patients to ensure their comfort and readiness to use the device. Our staff triage any questions or problems and ensure they are not only technologically ready but also, educated and comfortable with utilization. Greater engagement, relationship building, and support yields higher utilization and fewer errors – which in turn support greater patient satisfaction, better data, and better outcomes. Medsien’s dedicated Medical Assistants are available to help – either by phone or by an optional mobile app that allows patients to review their data and upcoming orders, and to communicate with providers and the practice staff effectively.

Without these important engagement strategies and support, adopting RPM programs can be much more challenging for patients and providers.  For RPM programs lacking these key approaches, seamless adoption is often much harder, yields less data, less revenue – and is generally less impactful when these important engagement strategies are not at play.

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