JAMA article highlights remote monitoring 

IRVINE, Calif. – A new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that, through recent technological advances in remote monitoring, a patient’s physiological needs can now more often be the primary factor in determining the level of monitoring they receive, rather than their physical location (i.e., the monitoring capabilities of the beds in a particular hospital care area). The article, “Remote Patient Monitoring During COVID-19: An Unexpected Patient Safety Benefit,” includes research that used the Masimo SafetyNext remote patient monitoring solution. The authors of the article, Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, and colleagues Melissa Cole, MSN, and Robert Hughes, DO, at University Hospitals Health System (UH) and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, note that research estimated daily assessment and three-week follow-up of at-home pulse oximetry monitoring was projected to be potentially associated with a mortality rate of six per 1,000 patients with COVID-19 vs. 26 per 1,000 without at-home monitoring. The authors outline a series of steps public health agencies and health systems should take to effectively encourage and implement remote patient monitoring. In their conclusion to the article, they note, "Home monitoring and hospital at-home models offer the potential to transform care and potentially allow a substantial proportion of hospitalized patients to receive care from home. Yet health systems will need to collaborate with technology companies to accelerate learning and produce greater value for patients, clinicians, and health care organizations."