A family practice in Texas – Sweetwater Medical Associates – is a small but mighty team that always seemed strapped for time. One of the most challenging areas is the monitoring of their high-risk patients so they could see any signs of impending problems. They began to look for a solution that could help ease their time burden as well as help them manage their high-risk patents.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) was the solution that they believe would work best for their needs. They partnered with 100Plus whose RPM solution comes with an AI-enabled Virtual Assistant that engages with the patients, offering nudges, feedback and praise, RPM patients are encouraged, take ownership of their health and are more successful in managing their chronic condition.
Onboarding RPM
Sweetwater introduced the RPM program to 100 patients. They identified the patients who would benefit the most from the program by analyzing their patient population with an automated proprietary tool that reviewed patient records for diagnosis codes associated with obesity and hypertension, as well as mapped reimbursement qualifications.
Better Outcomes and Patients Relationships
RPM technology offers numerous benefits to providers and patients. The continuous availability of biometric data allows for efficient care so that patients do not have to wait for follow-up visits or catastrophic events for the initiation, escalation, or discontinuation of medical therapies.
Patients can take readings on their own, at home through the RPM platform and the results are automatically shared with their providers via a patient portal.
In fact, the results were impressive in the first six months: patients enrolled in the program achieved an average blood pressure reduction of 5.80 mmHg for those with hypertension and a mean weight loss of 3.45 pounds for those with obesity.
Sweetwater has now expanded the RPM program to 240 patients. As a result of seeing their daily progress and understanding its positive impact on their well-being.