What is OpenRPM?

Dr. Erik E. Guzik, CTO, PatientOne

As part of our latest release of the PatientOne care management platform, we introduced a new component of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) that we refer to as OpenRPM. What exactly is OpenRPM and how does it improve delivery of RPM services to patients?

OpenRPM covers three main and related areas of improvement in the provision of RPM: (1) the disease states and conditions supported by remote monitoring; (2) the pathways and devices PatientOne now integrates to support these disease states and conditions; and (3) the types of health data obtained from these devices that can be shared with care teams for remote viewing and management to improve patient health outcomes. All three areas are based on a single objective at PatientOne–to expand access and use of RPM to patient conditions and medical devices that have so far been neglected in the RPM and home care space.

An example is PatientOne’s support of new pathways to monitor patients suffering from diabetic foot complications. Though not often discussed, a person with diabetes is more than 20 times more likely to require a lower-extremity amputation (LEA) than someone without diabetes. The human and financial impact is staggering. In the US alone, the cost of treating diabetic foot complications has been estimated to be between $9–$13 billion per year. Cost per patient is estimated to be over $8,600 per year. The human impact is far greater, including loss of mobility and independence.

How can OpenRPM help? PatientOne created a new pathway to support the monitoring of patients at greatest risk for diabetic foot complications. The pathway includes daily reminders, pre-emptive requests for communication with care team members, and most importantly, support for use of a remote thermographic camera that can be used by patients in the comfort of their own homes. Based on the seminal work of researchers Lawrence Lavery, David Armstrong, and Lee Rogers, thermographic imaging is the gold standard for monitoring the progression of diabetic foot complications, based on a type of temperature mapping. The PatientOne pathway not only guides the patient on best practices and reminders, it automatically captures the thermographic data to share with remote care team members to monitor patients in a way never before possible. We are working now on applying novel AI to help analyze the tens of thousands of temperature data points provided by the integrated devices to better identify and predict the onset of diabetes complications.

What does the future of OpenRPM hold in store? PatientOne is working with kidney care specialists to integrate remote devices specific to kidney conditions and complications. We are working with vascular specialists to manage devices to help monitor conditions like lymphedema in the home. We are working with orthopedic groups and physical therapists to integrate smartbraces to help monitor treatments and rehabilitation for ankle injury. And with new focus on Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RPM), we have begun work with innovative companies developing devices and models to better manage mental health.

What is OpenRPM? It’s the application of RPM to improve the lives of as many patients as possible with remote care.

Find out more by scheduling a demo today with PatientOne CTO, Dr. Erik Guzik.

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