How Remote Care Changes Lives: Real Patient Stories

Remote care programs like remote patient monitoring (RPM) allow providers and clinical teams to connect with patients outside of regular office visits and strengthen the patient-provider relationship. By enabling continuous communication about their health during patients’ daily lives, patients receive real-time support and coaching on how to best manage their conditions and improve their outcomes faster than with office visits alone.  

Optimize Health's monitoring nurses work with patients each day to provide coaching and clinical support. Here are more of their real-life stories that highlight how their work and dedication have improved patients’ lives.

Patient 1: Hypertension and Medication Misunderstanding

A patient was successfully managing her blood pressure through RPM and blood pressure medication. However, during a routine office visit, her physician advised her to stop taking her blood pressure medication for seven days due to another condition.

Within a couple weeks, I noticed the patient’s blood pressure had risen dramatically. I reached out to the patient, who told me she stopped taking her blood pressure medication because her doctor advised her to. I consulted with her physician and we realized that she misunderstood and stopped taking her medications altogether, rather than just for a week. I called the patient back, who resumed taking her medication and was able to get her blood pressure back under control. Without RPM, this simple mistake may not have been caught until her next office visit, or worse, until her high blood pressure caused a trip to the ER or hospital.

Patient 2: Caring for Patients with All Abilities

A patient with high blood pressure who is vision impaired couldn’t read the readings from his blood pressure monitor. Without being able to see his readings, he was less engaged and often skipped taking his daily readings because he couldn’t see them, let alone act upon the results. When he was enrolled in RPM, he explained to me that he couldn’t see his readings and that was discouraging to him. However, I figured out that I could text him his readings and his phone would read his results out loud to him. Now, we are both engaged in monitoring his blood pressure, and he’s never felt more  knowledgeable and engaged in his own care. This new feedback loop between us has made him feel cared for, and he appreciates that someone else is actually checking on him with every reading.

Patient 3: Halving AC1 Levels in 8 Months

Reducing A1C levels and losing weight is a struggle for many patients with diabetes, and I had a patient who was overweight with a severely elevated A1C level of 10.3, which put her at risk for long-term diabetes complications. She was enrolled in RPM in February of 2022, and I called and texted her each day to provide support and education about how she can reduce her A1C levels and weight. I helped her draw connections about how her food and exercise impacts her A1C levels, and we collaborated on her care plan and dietary choices and developed a strong, trusting relationship. 

In just eight months, her A1C level is down to 5.6, which is considered a normal A1C level for someone without diabetes, and lost 25 pounds. When I shared her progress, I could hear the smile in her voice. She was so excited about what she achieved.

Ready to Improve Your Patients' Lives?

You can learn more about the work our nurses do to engage patients and improve outcomes by reading more patient stories or visiting our case studies page. You can also a schedule a free consultation with one of our experts to see how Optimize Health can help your practice.