July 12, 2023
Following Spritely’s most recent blog, Evaluating Remote Patient Monitoring Trials, we had an interesting conversation around the concept of value. At the heart of the word evaluation is the root word “value”. Evaluation is, therefore, the action of valuing.
When valuing an RPM trial, it is important to consider the net value it achieves. Value can be measured in several ways, positive and negative. It’s important to recognise this and understand the overall value or “net value” of the trial.
To use a simple sports analogy, when you play indoor cricket, your value to the team is not just the runs you score when you’re batting. Those are offset by the runs you concede when you’re bowling. The former has a positive value and the later has a negative value. If you concede more runs than you score, then unfortunately, your overall value to the team will be negative.
I mention this because we hear too many examples of RPM trials that consume more time than they save. I can’t count the number of times I’ve spoken with clinicians who described challenging experiences when trialing remote patient monitoring technology. Here are some the things we keep hearing,
Hardly anyone was able to download the app and get it going.
I spent a lot of time on tech support.
It was hard to manage software updates.
Data was expensive.
Setting up the phones took ages.
Some of these comments were heard at the Digital Heath Festival in Melbourne last month where one nurse described these experiences as “war stories”, as if implementing RPM was a battle. It shouldn’t be.
Most RPM trials are quick to point out the benefits of the technology, which are numerous, if the trial is done well. But all too often the total value of those benefits is reduced or even eliminated by negative experiences that burden the workforce in new ways. It should be remembered that a solution isn’t really a solution if it creates a bigger problem.
Worst case scenario, clinicians and patients simply give up on the new model of digitally enabled care when it becomes more hassle than it’s worth.
To avoid this, we need RPM technology that overcomes the fundamental barriers to adoption and achieves high engagement. This is where Spritely started, it is why we have persevered, and after three years it’s where we’ve made a major breakthrough. Get in touch to find out more.
Check out recent research from Google and the NHS that focuses on the importance of empowering patients by making it easy for them to engage. We’ve quoted a couple of headline points from the research below.
“Many individuals are not confident about using technology to manage their health, leading to a fear that they may be locked out of healthcare if they cannot access or use digital tools.”
“Three areas emerged as necessary building blocks that could enable greater patient empowerment: digital access and inclusion, patient satisfaction, and user confidence.”
