Distributing healthcare through tech: The next wave of innovation

• Published in: Ophthalmology Times Vol. 45; no. 16; pp. 44 - 45
• Main Author: Ide, Lucienne Marie
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Monmouth Junction MultiMedia Healthcare Inc 01-10-2020
• Subjects: Asymptomatic; Automation; Blood pressure; Chronic illnesses; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease; Emergency communications systems; Emergency medical care; Health care industry; Ophthalmology; Pandemics; Patients; Physiology; Respiration; Wearable computers
• ISSN: 0193-032X; 2150-7333

[...]the potential is greater than simply monitoring patients who may need consistent care for chronic conditions, or who are hesitant to venture out and potentially be exposed to COVID-19. Since RPM technology is digitally connected and non-invasive, healthcare providers can use these tools to monitor temperature, pulmonary function, blood pressure and other physiological changes to not only identify individuals with the disease, but to watch for emergency warning signs of more serious problems, such as difficulty breathing. Will better care result from the data collected? Since use of RPM for COVID-19 is in a nascent stage, there is no definitive proof that these solutions will work. [...]there is an expectation that tying in automated, continuous biometric data collection with existing health management platforms, electronic health records and risk factors, then applying advanced analytics, will provide greater insights to inform healthcare providers, so they can predict infections before symptoms present and take appropriate actions.