Nimith is the Founder of DoctCo, a company that aims to reinvent healthcare in rural areas of India using technology and innovation. DoctCo’s social initiative Swasthya Ghar Tak has provided last-mile connectivity to patients suffering from chronic diseases residing in tier 2 and 3 cities and nearby towns by connecting them remotely with medical experts. Nimith is a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive expertise in business management, execution, and growth. His solid knowledge of technology has helped him empower people and further his goal of healthcare accessibility for all.
In recent times, with the evolution of technology, cloud-based technologies have been at the forefront of several industries. This technology has impacted the healthcare industry on a great level as well. Cloud computing is one of the most valuable and promising technologies concerning accessing medical data, transferring medical records, and several other aspects involved in the chain of healthcare. It has also been instrumental in improving the quality of healthcare. Using cloud computing can significantly improve the process of monitoring patients while improving the speed and accuracy of the process.
Typically, the healthcare sector faces many issues including the high cost of healthcare, insufficient resources, and inefficient management of hospital resources. In addition to these, there are also other issues such as challenges with logistics, a limited number of beds and equipment, etc. With the Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare services can be improved without any physical, logistic, or resource constraints. It primarily acts as a catalyst for healthcare. In this article, we will have a look at how cloud-based patient monitoring is beneficial in different use cases.
What is Cloud-Based Patient Monitoring?
Before diving into the benefits of cloud-based patient monitoring, let us have a brief overview of what cloud-based monitoring entails. Cloud-based patient monitoring typically refers to the remote monitoring of a patient by the means of sensors and a tracking methodology facilitated by cloud technology. With this method, remote monitoring of the patient is possible at all times. Overall, this contributes to providing an improved quality of healthcare.
Benefits of Cloud-Based Patient Monitoring
An increasing number of clinicians have started to observe and appreciate the value of remote patient monitoring devices and services. While such a methodology can be beneficial to the physician, it is equally beneficial for patients at the same time. There are many benefits associated with cloud-based patient monitoring such as the following:
- Better Clinical Outcomes
Having one or more chronic diseases can be quite disabling to patients and healthcare practitioners. Without any access to consistent care, it can be challenging to manage a condition or disease. With cloud-based solutions, physicians can stay aware and cognizant of their patient’s medical conditions at all times. This not only helps avoid hassle but also improves the scope for early intervention of a disease progression. Continuous monitoring can also reduce hospitalization in the short term and also decrease the incidence of complications in the long term.
- Lower Healthcare Costs
Visiting the hospital for a consultation involves costs apart from consultation fees such as transportation costs, arrangement costs for mobility challenges, etc. Reducing the number of visits and hospitalization can largely reduce healthcare spending. This also contributes to lower spending in the long term. Cloud-based patient monitoring also facilitates improved reach between patients and doctors. With this technology, many more physicians have been able to meet their metrics. This is primarily because cloud-based patient monitoring allows a clinician to reach their patients better, collect health data, and provide better medical management techniques.
- Increased Patient Adherence
When it comes to patients adhering to their treatment and improving their health, one of the main factors that lead to patient adherence is continuous monitoring. Many patients have been observed to stray away from medical management practices mainly because they believe that their condition no longer requires treatment and a lack of physician intervention during the process.
- Reduced Labour Costs and Doctor-Patient ratio
With cloud-based patient monitoring such as telehealth services and remote patient monitoring, doctors and medical staff are no longer constrained to their office spaces to facilitate consultations and treatments. Cloud-based technology allows physicians to consult with patients virtually thereby reducing labor costs while alleviating physician burnout. This aspect of physician burnout is very crucial as nearly 42 per cent of physicians are burnout on average. By facilitating access to these treatments to the underprivileged population, this technology also helps to address the issue of doctor-patient ratios and specialist-patient ratios.
- Increased Patient Engagement
Ultimately, cloud-based monitoring allows patients to stay more proactive about their health management as well as lifestyle. It also encourages patients to adhere to their treatment more strictly supported by frequent intervention and data. As this technology offers a more collaborative experience, the rate of both patient satisfaction, as well as physician satisfaction, has increased. This response has been greatly beneficial to patients as they are now more likely to take control over their health that eventually leads to improved health outcomes.
- Increased Revenue
Cloud-based monitoring is a cost-efficient alternative considered to monitoring through hospitalization of the patient at the hospital or clinic. With cloud-based monitoring, costs pertaining to upfront resources and additional staffing can be mitigated. With the right technical support team, the captured revenue increases.
How Does it Help With Different Use Cases?
Cloud-based patient monitoring not only works for the general patient population but also for a variety of different patient populations. Here are 3 patient populations where cloud-based monitoring has been incredibly beneficial.
- Diabetes
With diabetes, consistent and timely management is crucial. To manage type-2 diabetes, patients have to continuously monitor their blood sugar levels. This blood sugar data has to be communicated with the physician to ensure appropriate treatment.
- Hypertension
Hypertension is one of the most widespread conditions that costs healthcare organizations the most. Both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure have to be measured frequently to ensure the safety of the patient. Cloud-based patient monitoring has allowed doctors to seamlessly monitor the blood pressure of patients to reduce risks and improve treatment outcomes.
- Behavioural Health
There has been an increase in the number of people experiencing mental health illnesses by the year. Unlike physical symptoms of conditions, behavioral health requires more insight and frequent check-ins to evaluate risk assessments. Cloud-based patient monitoring has vastly contributed to improved management of behavioral health.
To sum up, cloud-based patient monitoring has unraveled a new phase of healthcare by providing a plethora of benefits. It has positively impacted both physicians as well as patients to improve overall health outcomes. In addition, cloud-based monitoring also increases revenue with regards to the healthcare facility and allows smoother operations while improving accessibility between doctors and patients.