Remote Patient Monitoring for Weight Loss Management

Remote Patient Monitor Obesity Patients to Study Effect on Weight Loss

With western culture’s dietary habits coupled with a lack of physical activity, the numbers of overweight or obese individuals are increasing. And because of various obesity-related diseases, there is a growing burden on health. Negatively affecting not only personal health, obesity also negatively affects national economies, making it a serious global problem.

Compared with drug treatments or bariatric surgery, which makes changes to the digestive system to help individuals lose weight, lifestyle modification is the most advantageous approach to losing weight. Prevention is the best approach to solving obesity challenges rather than medical treatment once the disease occurs. Improving an individual’s life habits via continuous care is the ideal goal for long-term treatment.

While many studies had demonstrated weight loss effects with a remote patient monitoring service, limited data were available regarding the effect of an individual’s active participation in weight loss. By minimizing time restrictions, as well as space restrictions, various remote patient monitoring apps have been developed to use mobile phones in managing chronic diseases.

Remote Patient Monitoring Study Explores Traditional Approach Vs. Monitoring

In a 2013 study, researchers evaluated the effect of remote patient monitoring on weight loss and compared the effect to that of existing outpatient treatments for obese patients. The researchers successfully used a remote patient monitoring health care service for patients who were struggling with obesity to achieve significant weight loss.

By using a remote patient monitoring health app on a smartphone, the study’s remote patient monitoring group transmitted measured information via their mobile app to a central server in addition to visiting an on-site center where researchers measured their body composition once every three months. The study also provided the remote patient monitoring group a body composition analyzer and a pedometer.

There was also a control group who were provided a scale and pedometer. They also performed weight measurements like the remote patient monitoring group and recorded their weight along with the number of steps measured by their pedometer in a diary. The control group also visited the on-site center once every three months for their body composition measurements.

Thus, the remote patient monitoring group had a smartphone and a body composition analyzer in addition to a scale and a pedometer. They also received monitoring by a care manager for both remote body weight and activity versus just a diary. The study lasted 24 weeks during which both groups visited the hospital at week 12 and week 24 to undergo safety evaluations.

Remote Patient Monitoring Study Shows Greater Weight Loss for Obesity Participants

The intervention group, or the remote patient monitoring group, experienced a mean weight loss of 2.21 kg (4.8 lbs) as compared to the control group who experienced a mean weight loss of .77 kg (1.7 lbs). The remote patient monitoring group lost nearly three times the weight as their control group counterparts.

While the primary focus of the study was weight loss, they also looked at secondary effects in both groups. The remote patient monitoring group also enjoyed superior improvement in body mass index (BMI), body fat rate, waist measurement, and diet habit over their control group counterparts.

The researchers concluded that combining the remote patient monitoring to the intervention group along with existing treatment had superior results when compared with the control group who only received the existing treatment. Not to mention, the researchers had no safety concerns during their observations. The researchers’ conclusion is that remote patient monitoring is an effective method in controlling the weight of obese patients.

Remote Patient Monitoring Study Piggybacks on Previous Study Regarding Adherence

The researchers of the previously mentioned study took their research one step further and divided their intervention group, or remote patient monitoring group, into three groups according to their adherence: an active group comprised of participants who transmitted their measurement data by smartphone three or more times per week (or who had a health consultation five or more times within a 24-hour period); a passive group comprised of participants who did not participate in this level of engagement; and a control group comprised of participants who did not use the mobile app service.

After discovering a statistically significant difference in improvements to body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, and waist measurement in the active participants as compared with the less active participants, as well as to the control group.

The researchers concluded that the level of participation may be related to the improved weight-related outcomes. And the weight-related outcomes may improve health outcomes. Researchers further concluded that to maximize the effectiveness of telehealth monitoring, providers should stress the importance of active participation.

Accuhealth: RPM Solution for Obesity Care & Beyond

Accuhealth specializes in Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) of obesity care. Our platform devices coupled with 24-hour clinician teams empower patients to take control of their health, actively improving their lives. Designed to meet the needs of obesity care patients, our devices and accompanying services provide both providers and patients the assurance they need to safely and effectively navigate obesity care.

Providing remote monitoring solutions, our platform takes the worry out of deploying an RPM program at a clinical level. Remote Patient Monitoring for obesity care is a significant advancement, allowing telehealth to assist in managing comorbidity risks such as obesity.

Simple and secure, Accuhealth is the most trusted telemedicine and remote patient monitoring solution. Making it easy for providers and their patients, Accuhealth’s platform provides vital information in real time, enabling better health management.

Designed with doctors in mind, Accuhealth’s platform uses cellular-enabled devices (which provide better adherence, had they been available during this study, based on Accuhealth’s data would have shown better adherence and thus better results) quickly and easily transmitting data from the device to the platform’s secure cloud. With physician-tailored features, easy integration, and a simplicity of design, Accuhealth provides an efficient, as well as scalable, RPM platform.

Making RPM implementation easy for physicians, Accuhealth’s platform features data visualization, which reduces cognitive noise, allowing providers to easily consume and understand raw data. With the Evelyn platform, physicians are able to onboard more patients with less effort.

Accuhealth’s Evelyn platform complies with health care and billing requirements, creating a turnkey solution to remote patient monitoring deployment for clinics of all sizes. Making it the easiest and most effective telehealth platform on the market, Accuhealth’s simplicity and effortless integration is designed for long-term stability, as well as for expansion.

A dedicated platform trainer serves as an account executive for new providers. Depending on questions, training runs 45 minutes and is fully interactive. Accuhealth’s software makes training, reporting, and user experience a breeze. Our support team and account executive are always available to answer questions. The platform is user friendly, making it easy to learn.

Accuhealth’s products can benefit the health of patients struggling with obesity. Find out more about how Accuhealth can enhance your clinic’s obesity care management, and how you can start your own Remote Patient Monitoring program today, within 24 hours, with no contract, commitment, or up-front costs. Visitwww.accuhealth.techto learn more.