Via the dedicated module for medications now incorporated into the VitalCare platform for remote patient monitoring, clinicians and patients can set medication reminders by time of day, which are then sent to the patient’s tablet or smartphone and can also be sent in the form of messages to VitalTech’s VitalBand smartwatch.
Either the patient or a clinician can also add medications, a component that provides the primary physician with the ability to view all medications prescribed by any specialists. This feature helps avoid adverse reactions due to conflicting prescriptions.

Patients mark their medications daily as taken, skipped or missed, information that is logged in their record in the VitalCare portal. This participation keeps seniors, for whom the platform was designed, engaged and helps them adhere to their care plans. This in turn helps improve the quality of care they receive, according to the company in a news release.

“It’s well known that medication adherence is a huge factor in improving outcomes for our senior population,” says James Hamilton, CEO of VitalTech, in the release. “VitalCare is the remote patient monitoring system built from the ground up specifically for seniors, providing the ease of use they seek whether they’re aging in place at home, or at an assisted living or skilled nursing facility.”

In addition to medication, VitalCare has modules for monitoring vital signs, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and nutrition intake. Collection of vitals is done through Bluetooth-enabled medical devices. In many deployments, VitalTech provides these devices in a fulfillment service along with a tablet. These devices are pre-paired with the tablet and customized to the patient’s individual health profile, and may include a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter or other devices.

Nutritional data is collected by the daily recording of foods consumed. This is done via the user’s voice or by barcode scanning. The resulting trend data for measures such as calories, fat and sodium is available for the patient and their care team to view, helping the patient stay on track with their health goals.

VitalCare is designed to enable better communication between patients and their clinicians via telemedicine video calls for remote health visits and virtual check-ins, reducing unnecessary visits to the emergency department or physician’s office. Patients can also message their care team through the HIPAA-secure portal.

Care providers can use VitalCare’s automatic timer when reviewing their patient’s data, aggregating their evaluation time for remote patient monitoring reimbursement and telehealth services under the newly expanded Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, the release continues.

[Source(s): VitalTech, PR Newswire]