Patient Engagement Strategies: Enhancing Participation in CMS RPM through Remote Monitoring

Bhushan Vanjari
March 15, 2024
1:51 pm
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The rising popularity of virtual care has made remote patient monitoring one of the core aspects of every care practice. Imagine interacting with patients on your mobile or laptop and receiving their health details in real time. Moreover, you will only meet the patient physically when it is extremely necessary.

Wouldn’t that make healthcare one of the most sophisticated industries?

Well, this is a reality in 2024!

However, many patients and even providers believe that virtual platforms are less credible in terms of engaging patients. It’s true that the more you engage patients with their care, the better the chances of improving their health outcomes.

However, this study shows some interesting numbers about remote monitoring, where patient participation was as high as 80% across 41 states.

So, the debate about the digital mode of healthcare not being able to engage patients effectively can be discarded.

But how can you easily engage the remaining 20% of the patients from the statistics mentioned above?

Well, you might have just searched for the right keyword and clicked the right link.

In this article, let’s discuss patient engagement strategies and how to increase patient participation in CMS RPM!

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Building the Foundation for Effective Patient Engagement in Healthcare

When you are looking to start your CMS Remote Patient Monitoring program, understanding that higher patient engagement will directly contribute to program success and improved outcomes is necessary. Furthermore, your RPM software solves most of the challenges of patient engagement in Remote Patient Monitoring, all you need to do is create a solid foundation with a strategic approach to keep the patients engaged.

Here are some major things that you should consider when building a solid foundation of engagement.

1. Address Patient Concerns

Despite the lucrative studies that show 4 out of 5 Americans in favor of using remote patient monitoring, they still have concerns while receiving virtual consultation. Being a healthcare provider starting a CMS RPM program, you need to address their concerns and implement effective strategies to gain their attention and increase their engagement with their health.

Some of their major concerns include data privacy, security, and effective communication with their healthcare providers. Ensuring patient data privacy and security is essential to gain their trust. And since CMS requires you to comply with your RPM software with HIPAA and other regulatory guidelines, you can easily address those concerns.

On the other hand, since the use of technology is rapidly increasing, many of your patient population might feel overwhelmed by the continuous use of technology. To address this, you can provide patients with effective training and explain to them the benefits of using the RPM program. Furthermore, designing a simple user interface with the clinical workflow can make things easier for them, leading to better patient engagement in remote monitoring programs. Furthermore, patient education in remote health monitoring also plays a crucial role in increasing engagement and overcoming their concerns.

2. Set Clear Expectations

Patient participation in Remote Monitoring programs is quite high with the adoption of technology in healthcare. However, when patients enroll into your RPM program they often have very different expectations than what the program aims to offer. That is why it is important to set clear expectations for your patient population.

Before their enrollment, explain the program offerings to the patients, from how the data is collected to the frequency of data collection to enable continuous monitoring of their health. This will set clear expectations for the patients and also increase their engagement with their health.

Along with that, also explain to them the clinical workflow in your RPM program and how their active patient participation in the remote monitoring program will lead to achieving the set goals. Here, they might have some questions related to patient-provider communication, which you can address by the communication channels available to you in the RPM software.

Optimizing the Patient Experience

1. User-Friendly Technology

Patient engagement is directly proportional to the patient experience, and people generally like simple things. With that in mind, emphasize on providing a simple, interactive and responsive user-interface of the RPM software and RPM devices.

While providing the RPM devices, hand out an instruction guide on how to use them. Along with that, the remote patient monitoring software interface should be developed in such a way that it enhances its usability. Some of the best practices to follow are the right placement of buttons and clinical alignment of the software with your practice. However, before this, you need to ensure that all the RPM devices are compatible with the software and do not create confusion in data transmission.

2. Personalized Communication

Patient engagement in remote patient monitoring highly depends on the patient-provider communication. For patients using RPM for chronic disease management, personalized communication can prove to be crucial for high patient engagement.

Some of the best practices for effective patient engagement in healthcare often include regular feedback report sharing and regular telehealth consultations to better overview patient health. The educational library in the RPM software will also be utilized to provide patients with educational material specifically tailored to their needs.

All these are effective remote monitoring communication strategies leading to improved patient-provider relationships and communication.

3. Gamification and Incentives

One way to optimize patient experience and increase patient engagement is to gamify the process. Some of the best elements included in this are giving points and badges after completing a task. This will not only motivate patients to engage with their healthcare activities but also make the consultation easy for both patients and providers.

Along with that, you can also include non-monetary incentives like health coaching and educational resources to encourage and engage patients.

Empowering Patients through Education

1. Provide Educational Materials

For motivating patients in telemedicine programs providing patient education is one of the best practices used in the industry. It not only makes patients aware about their conditions but also contributes to increasing their adherence rate with the treatment and medication. Patient education benefits in chronic disease management in different ways leading to better patient engagement.

However, understand that reading material can be boring for patients at times. To overcome this, you need to diversify your educational library with different formats. Include interesting videos, infographics and downloadable guides to cater to different learning styles of different patients enrolled in your RPM program.

2. Encourage Two-Way Communication

Education is the best way to empower patients. However, some patients are inclined towards communication, education, and engagement with their healthcare activities. To empower such patients, you need to encourage two-way communication in your RPM platform, where both patients and providers can facilitate communication and vice versa.

However, communicating with some patients can disrupt your consultation with other patients. To avoid such situations, you need to provide clear instructions on how patients can reach healthcare professionals with their questions and concerns. Explain to them the right use of secure messaging features and when to use a telemedicine platform.

Conclusion

Patient engagement is directly proportional to the patient’s health outcomes and adherence. That is why many providers, including CMS, emphasize higher patient engagement. From giving patients more control of their health with the technology they use to considering their choices, ensure that the patient feels involved in the care plan.

Along with that, encourage them to proactively participate in their care plan and join the support groups and communities to recover faster and better. However, it is the healthcare providers that should have a strategic approach to drive higher patient engagement. Patient engagement is crucial for the success of your RPM program, and the RPM software gives you enough freedom to implement the strategies mentioned above and have a competitive edge over other providers.

Frequently Asked Question’s

1. Can patients opt out of remote patient monitoring?

Yes, patients can opt out of the remote patient monitoring program anytime by informing the care team members.

2. What are the reimbursement options for RPM services?

Medicare and potentially private insurers reimburse RPM. It covers setting up patients with devices, monitoring data, and managing care plans, and the reimbursement ranges from $20 to $150 per patient per month.

3. How can remote patient monitoring benefit patients with chronic conditions?

Chronically ill patients can keep track of their vital signs at home using remote monitoring, which helps them manage their health. This data is sent to their doctors, who can detect problems early and adjust treatment plans as needed.

4. What are the key factors influencing patient engagement in remote monitoring programs?

Patient engagement in remote monitoring is driven by two main factors: ease of use and perceived benefit. For patients to benefit from monitoring, the technology should be user-friendly, and patients should understand how it helps their health.

5. How can healthcare providers overcome technological barriers to patient participation in RPM?

Healthcare providers can bridge the tech gap by offering user-friendly devices, cellular options, and in-person or phone setup assistance for RPM programs. This ensures patients with varying comfort levels can participate.

6. What role does patient education play in enhancing engagement in remote monitoring?

Patient education empowers engagement in remote monitoring, by understanding the why and how of the technology, patients feel more in control and are better equipped to use it effectively, leading to a more active role in their health.