Empowering Patients with Self-Measuring Tracking Tools

As a doctor you’ve likely found yourself conflicted when it comes patients and the information on internet. On one hand the web is an easily accessible tool with infinite information for everyone. On the other hand, too much of the information tends to misinform or confuse your patients rather than helping the cause of patient education. 

With infinite information in the palm of their hand, patients are tempted to first self-assess and monitor their own health, rather than schedule an important visit with you.

When patients do this without consulting a healthcare professional, they are not just at risk for receiving inaccurate information, but they are also at risk for worsening their health outcomes. This can be dangerous, especially for patients struggling with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, among others.

The good news is that patients do want to take charge of their health concerns and want a way to measure their progress. At the same time, you, as their provider, want them to receive medically accurate education and guidance while also being able to monitor their progress. 

But, eliminating technology and discouraging patient autonomy is not the answer. Instead, the solution is to supply patients with the right tools under your supervision so you can empower them to take charge of their health, the right way.

Enter self-measuring tracking tools. Self-measuring tracking tools include patient wearable devices, or apps such as BodySite, that allow patients to track their biometric data. When this data is interpreted by a healthcare professional, it can be leveraged to help patients achieve their health goals. 

Here is the information you’ll need in order to successfully implement patient self measurement tools in your practice: 

Evidence for Self Measuring Tracking Tools

116 million Americans have high blood pressure [1], one third of Americans are overweight [2] and four out of five U.S. adults want to improve their personal well-being [3]. 

Clearly the desire and the need is there for a way for patients to measure their progress towards to assist in achieving health goals, but there is also strong evidence that patient tracking improves outcomes. 

For example, studies show continuous glucose monitoring improved patient health outcomes and made it easier for patients and caregivers to manage their care. [4] Additionally, there is evidence for improved weight loss among those who weigh in regularly. [5]

Patient Connected Health Devices

While there are a number of consumer facing health devices on the market, here are a few that correlate with common health concerns…

Weight Gain – the Innotech scale measures weight, body fat % and more

Blood Sugar –  iGlucose meter for blood sugar management 

Sleep – Oura Ring tracks patient sleep, heart rate, readiness score and more

Activity – Fitbit tracks patient steps, heart rate, sleep and more

Biometrics – Apple Health stores patient activity, heart rate, calories expended and more

Physician Guided Tracking

With the rise of such sophisticated technology, some might wonder: do patients even need their provider’s intervention when the biometric information is instantly populated to a patient’s device?

Patients may view their weight, sleep score or blood pressure results and think they are doing well, but without your expert insight, they may not be making the progress they need to or they might be missing key information.

Just like you wouldn’t have patients interpret their own bloodwork without a medical degree, neither should they interpret their biometric data on their own.  And usually, the knowledge of their biometrics doesn’t mean that the patient has the first idea what to do about their current state of health.

BodySite’s Connected Health Devices

Housing patient information on an easy-to-use platform for both doctor and patient is key. Using the BodySite platform patients can easily sync any of the aforementioned devices to their patient portal, where their healthcare provider can evaluate their progress in real time on their end. 

The platform is HIPAA compliant and creates a full patient to provider loop that makes it easier than ever for patients to track their progress while having the full support of their healthcare provider. 

If you’re looking for a solution that allows you to perform all of the functions mentioned above, look into BodySite. BodySite’s remote patient care solution offers remote patient monitoring through connected health devices, HIPAA compliant telemedicine visits, real time messaging, biometric data monitoring, and more, all under one convenient and reasonably priced platform. 

BodySite is available on desktop and mobile making it extremely easy for you and your patients to connect. Take a full tour of the platform by heading here to view a live BodySite provider account or take advantage of our 30-day FREE trial here. 

 

SOURCES: 

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm#print
  2. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
  3. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-four-in-five-us-adults-want-to-improve-their-personal-well-being-or-appearance-in-2019-and-36-percent-are-considering-cosmetic-treatments-according-to-new-realself-survey-300779900.html
  4. https://www.ajmc.com/view/continuous-glucose-monitoring-an-emerging-standard-of-care
  5. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/daily-weighing#:~:text=Weighing%20Yourself%20Daily%20Helps%20You%20Lose%20More%20Weight&text=One%20study%20showed%20that%20participants,themselves%20less%20frequently%20(%2010%20).