Technology has been implemented in a variety of new home healthcare products in recent years, from power-operated beds and chairs to smart cushions. But recent technological developments in home care are reaching further than ever before, enabling patients with chronic conditions to receive quality care without constant trips to the doctor’s office or hospital. Several new technologies have revolutionized new home healthcare products in the last decade, enabling healthcare providers to care for patients using remote monitoring tools and changing the way doctors and patients interact. These advancements offer immediate solutions to patient problems and provide an alternative to office visits and long-term care facilities.

There are already several new technological advancements such as monitoring devices for cardiac, cancer and diabetes patients, which allow doctors to treat patients in the comfort of their own home, while alleviating the financial and emotional burden of higher-cost facility settings. Below are some of the most innovative advancements in remote monitoring tools.

mHealth

Advancements in new home healthcare products like mHealth are eradicating the need for wires and cords and allowing patients and doctors the freedom of checking healthcare processes on the go. With over 100,000 apps, the market projection of the mHealth industry suggests it will be worth 49 billion dollars in the next five years, indicating that these new home healthcare products are only becoming more prevalent. Devices like smartphones and tablets allow doctors and healthcare providers to send and receive patient information and access patient files almost instantly, but mHealth is not only about wireless connectivity. It also allows patients to participate in their treatment, giving them the ability to monitor things like their weight, blood pressure and heart rate, and then to transfer that information wirelessly.

Portal Technology

Another big way technology is positively impacting new home healthcare products is through portal technology. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to websites that allow patients to schedule appointments, email their physicians, refill medications and check their lab results. As these patient portals become more sophisticated and user-friendly, patients become more empowered and involved in their treatment. Previous concerns that such access to records and results would frustrate patients have not come to fruition; instead there is evidence that patients enjoy this type of self-management and can often help to catch errors in their own health records.

Sensors/ Wearable Technology

The wearable medical device market has made home healthcare news recently as new home healthcare products emerge such as smart watches, wearable hands, smart diapers, wristbands, pedometers and bionic suits. Advancements in these new home healthcare products enable patients to monitor their heart rate, sleep patterns, calorie intake, body temperature, cardiac activity and daily activity. Users can easily sync their wearable devices to their smartphones and tablets so that healthcare providers can remotely identify any abnormalities.

Who Will Benefit from Remote Monitoring Tools?

Remote monitoring tools can reduce costs and unnecessary visits to the doctor’s office, which is emotionally and financially beneficial for those who suffer from chronic illnesses or conditions. New home healthcare products, like digital scales, EKG recorders, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters and other wearable devices automatically transmit data to a center when there is something wrong with a patient so that doctors can easily spot any trouble early on. When used, remote monitoring tools can save lives and money and reduce the rate of readmission of patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease.

Of course, these technological advancements cannot yet address every patient’s needs, for example severe trauma from an accident is beyond the reach of these devices. But the advancements in remote monitoring tools are extremely useful for patients who meet the following 3 criteria:

• They have a chronic condition or illness that persists for years.
• Their condition or illness can be address through protocol administered by non-physicians.
• They are not intensive and do not require round-the-clock human monitoring.

Chronic conditions that fall into this criteria include pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes and fracture prevention. With the growing potential for these devices to help doctors provide quality care to more patients and the cost benefits of these new home health care products, it is easy to see why many doctors believe that these new home healthcare products will revolutionize home patient care within the next 5 years.

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