8 Remote Patient Monitoring Tools Hospitals & Providers Can Use to Improve

At Dickson Data, we develop precise and consistent temperature and humidity monitoring solutions to comply with ever-changing health and safety regulations in the heatlhcare industry, which makes us naturally curious about other monitoring, sensing, and data collection tools being used

Hospitals use our temperature data loggers throughout their facility to keep track of vaccine temperatures, analyze test results, and adhere to incubator standards.

So, we’ve spent a decent amount of time in hospitals, looking around and watching as other monitoring devices keep track of patients. As such, we know how valuable it is for hospital facility managers to identify and find the best remote monitoring tools to support critical moments that can improve patient outcomes and comfort. 

Here are 8 remote monitoring tools we see the most in our hospital visits:

1. Electrocardiograms (ECGs)

The classic electrocardiogram is a hospital heart monitor used by doctors to see their patient’s cardiac activity remotely. It measures the electrical signals from the heart, and converts them into wavelengths, offering immediate alerts when the wavelengths go beyond or below the necessary threshold. Many ECG devices, or heart monitoring machines, today offer real-time monitoring at the hospital and even at home. 

2. Blood Pressure Monitors

Non-invasive hospital- grade blood pressure monitors are commonly used in hospitals as a tool to monitor blood pressure, usually via an oscillometric measurement technique. One study showed how remote monitoring of blood pressure improves patient outcomes. These devices usually come with LED displays and some form of data retention. It is also common practice to validate and calibrate these devices frequently.

3. Electronic Fetal Monitors

An electronic fetal monitor is a perinatal solution used in labor and delivery departments of hospitals to measure a fetus’s heart rate before and during labor.  With the latest technology in remote fetal monitoring, healthcare providers can improve maternal and fetal outcomes.

4. Pulse Oximeters

When doctors need to monitor the amount of oxygen in a patient’s blood, they use a pulse oximeter. These little guys are the clothespin- looking devices that attach to a patient’s pointer finger. They were developed way back in 1935 by Karl Matthes and follow best practices in patient care as a core vital to check upon admission to the hospital.

Today, you can actually reduce hospital admissions by recommending remote pulse oximetery telemonitoring in patients with acute or chronic conditions.

5. Wearables

Wearables can encompass many of the tools already mentioned, but these are essentially any kind of device that a patient can wear and doctors can track at the hospital. One of the most popular in the past several years has been the Apple Watch. These patient monitoring tools are everywhere in hospitals these days, and will continue to become more and more common for monitoring a patient, especially in the case of remote monitoring within the hospital.

6. Capnograms

The capnogram is a tool used in hospitals to measure the respiratory system during intensive care, and for operations where anesthesia is involved. These tools monitor the amount of CO2 inhaled and exhaled, and then graph that data for doctors and nurses, who look for the direct and indirect signs of lung failure.

For patients with early warning signs of respiratory distress, providers can recommend a remote monitoring capnogram device, which will alert them when action is needed so they can provide patient care sooner, minimizing risk and saving lives.

7. Body Temperature Monitors

Temperature! We love measuring temperature at Dickson, so we couldn’t resist putting this tool on the list. Body temperature monitors are used widely in hospitals, but a lot of times getting an accurate reading on a patient’s thermoregulation in real-time can be a challenge.

Using a remote body temperature monitoring solution like TempTraq, you can detect fevers sooner, monitoring patients remotely (i.e. from the other room while you’re running labs at the hospital), manage infection, and improve patient outcomes.

8. Cold Storage & Environmental Monitoring

Finally, one of the remote monitoring tools we see hospitals frequently using is our cold storage and environmental monitoring data loggers and temperature monitoring solutions. Our devices help management and staff closely monitor and maintain optimal environmental conditions required to meet health and safety regulations around vaccine and medical storage, as well as patient care and safety, even in large, complex hospital facilities. 

With our immediate alerts, you can move into swift action to prevent compromised patient environments or the spoilage of drugs and maintain critical temperature and humidity levels. You will also be better equipped to generate reports required for compliance audits and internal reviews based on the data output.

Learn more about our temperature and humidity monitoring standards and how our team can help you with solution implementation.