Best practices for using a remote digital weight scale at home
Proper training and technique for patients is the best way to ensure accurate readings with your at-home, remote digital weight scale. 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.
Using an at-home digital weight scale seems straightforward, but there are a few factors that might skew readings. Ensuring accuracy in patient measurements in data is essential in monitoring one's health remotely. Health emergencies in patients suffering from conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) can be detected with as little as a 2-3 pound weight gain. For these chronic conditions, it has been proven that rapid intervention is the most effective method for managing CHF. Additional studies have shown that patients who weigh themselves daily are more likely to gain greater control over their weight and lose more weight when compared to individuals who weighed themselves less frequently. This list of best practices allows patients to weigh themselves accurately and consistently in order to work preventatively against chronic conditions associated with weight.
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 use a digital weight scale at home?
Remote digital weight scales are best managing chronic conditions such as:
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Obesity
Rapid Weight Loss
What are some factors that might interfere with accurate results?
Remote digital weight scales may be affected by factors such as:
Time of day
Variations in articles of clothing
Wet hair or wet skin
Types of surfaces beneath the scale
The 5 best ways to guarantee accurate at-home weight measurements
Weigh yourself in the morning. Many resources suggest that measuring weight in the morning is the best way to ensure consistency. Picking a specific time in the morning will help incorporate the habit and will assist with accurate measurements.
Measure your weight naked or in the same clothes everyday. Consistency in clothing, or lack thereof, in measuring weight is key. Keeping this variable the same everyday by taking weight measurements naked, or in the same clothing, will ensure more accurate and consistent results.
Weigh yourself before you shower. Hair and skin absorb water easily and may interfere with accurate measurements if weight is taken after showering or swimming.
Make sure your scale is on a hard, stable surface. Keeping scales on steady surfaces such as wood or tiled floors will help ensure accurate measurements. It's best to keep scales in the same locations to help with consistency as well.
Move your scale away from walls or other objects. If scales become caught on surrounding objects or wall moldings the measurement can be obscured. Make sure the digital scale is moved away from other objects while measuring weight to help guarantee consistent data.
To learn more about managing weight and chronic conditions with a remote digital weight scale, talk to your doctor about Remote Patient Monitoring.