Best practices for remote monitoring of blood glucose patients
Proper training and technique for patients is the best way to ensure accurate readings with your at-home blood glucose monitor. Some of the most common reasons for inaccurate readings can be attributed to a simple lack of patient education. 100Plus provides accurate and reliable at-home Remote Patient Monitoring devices and proper patient education, guides, and resources to guarantee precise patient data for clinicians.
Accurate and consistent blood glucose readings are essential to efficiently monitoring a remote patient. These best practices will help patients to record the most exact data for healthcare providers so that clinicians can work with patient measurements to prevent health emergencies. Patients who consistently report inaccurate results put themselves at risk of dangerously high or low blood glucose and can potentially leave providers uninformed.
Choosing the best Remote Patient Monitoring offering can be a challenge for many physicians who are trying to scale their practices. A comprehensive Remote Patient Monitoring program should, above providing cellular devices to patients and an easy-to-use provider portal, include Population Health Management (PHM), white glove set-up, and AI assistance. These are important factors when it comes to choosing an RPM program and providing the best care for your patients.
The most effective RPM offering will employ PHM reminders to alert staff of patients that report measurements out of their safe range, ensuring that the most at-risk patients are always prioritized. To accurately manage your patient population, proper onboarding is crucial. RPM companies with White Glove onboarding will conduct eligible patient outreach, education, and enrollment. For scheduling, coaching, daily reminders and everything in between, the most comprehensive RPM company will utilize an AI virtual medical assistant for a 24/7, hands-on, additional staff member solely dedicated to remote patients.
The best program will take care of your Remote Patient Monitoring start to finish so practitioners can focus on what matters most: the patient.
Who should test blood glucose at home?
The prime candidates for at-home blood glucose testing and monitoring are patients suffering from chronic conditions such as:
Diabetes type 1
Diabetes type 2
These chronic condition patients may also be eligible for at-home monitoring if they are at risk for diseases such as:
Heart disease
Stroke
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Kidney disease
What are some factors that might interfere with accurate results?
At-home blood glucose results may not be accurate if:
The patient suffers from anemia or gout
It is abnormally hot or extremely humid outside
If the patient is located at a very high altitude
There is an excessive amount of vitamin C in the patients system
If you consistently see inaccurate or unexpected results it is best to contact the dedicated support team for your specific RPM program.
The 5 best ways to guarantee accurate at-home blood glucose readings
Make sure your test strips are not expired. Test strips that have passed their expiration date are not guaranteed to yield accurate results. Keeping your test strips dry and out of direct sunlight will also help deliver the most accurate results.
Keep your meter at a stable temperature and out of direct sunlight. Your remote devices are made up of delicate machinery and should not be exposed to direct elements. Doing so may interfere with the accuracy of the machine.
Establish a routine. Measuring blood glucose daily is important in collecting ample data while monitoring remotely. Each patient will have a unique schedule for testing that works best with their specific situation and condition.
Use a branded meter over a generic one. Branded meters, such as this one, go through rigorous testing that are not always required for generic meters. Branded meters are more likely to have accurate readings and more reliable measurements.
Wash your hands before using your blood glucose monitor. Residue left on fingertips, such as food, may interfere with the accuracy of a reading.
