Streamlining Cardiac Care with Near-Real-Time Monitors

Posted on December 9, 2022

When it comes to cardiovascular health care, every second counts. That’s why near-real-time monitors such as our advanced portable ecg machine for home use are gaining an important place as a powerful asset in the modern clinical workflow. Our device merges your facility’s long- and short-term monitoring needs, providing a two-in-one solution that’s designed to help physicians stay on top of their patients’ conditions. Technology such as our own is affording a live data ecosystem that care providers can trust to make life-saving decisions right in the nick of time. But how else is near-real-time heart monitoring changing cardiovascular care for the better? Today, we explore this and more. Take a look

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1. Lower time to diagnosis with near real-time cardiac care monitoring

Previously, physicians leveraged conventional cardiac monitoring solutions that were less than ideal. Cardiologists didn’t have 24/7 access to patient data until the latter sent it to the doctor by mail or in person. During that period, patients were essentially disconnected from the care process.

Then diagnostic processes would begin, further adding delay that could run into days and even weeks. But that is detrimental particularly for arrhythmia, as patient risk increases the longer the diagnosis takes. So, what happens if arrhythmia is left untreated? Well, there’s the elevated probability of:

1. Dementia
2. Cardiac arrest
3. Stroke
4. Heart failure

However, with near-real-time monitoring, these risks are greatly reduced. With our advanced and remote patient monitoring devices, for instance, cardiologists can ensure cardiac care that hovers over their patients.

For example, once a patient gets our bio-sensor on, they can record their symptoms by pushing a button. This recording is time-stamped, with this data available to physicians in a timely fashion. Now, doctors can reduce their diagnosis turnaround time due to this ready data, further streamlining cardiac care through prompt action.

2. Patient satisfaction and engagement improve with the right near-real time monitoring solutions

Several factors influence patient satisfaction for healthcare facilities that provide cardiac monitoring, including follow-up and feedback. When feedback loops are complex or time-consuming, chances are patient contentment levels with their provider will drop. The same holds true when follow-up is not carried out promptly and effectively.

Near-real-time monitoring is the solution to solve these two headaches. And with your practice’s financial performance on the line, it’s now more important than ever to ensure patient satisfaction.

With near-real time cardiac monitoring solutions, patient education, first of all, becomes easy to execute, making care recipients feel more valuable. What’s more, hospitals can meet their clients’ expectations with modern technology while it becomes a breeze to implement feedback loops that easily keep patients at the heart of the entire care process.

3. Near-real-time monitoring can create a patient-centric workflow

The clinical workflow is complex enough as it is. Throw in the repeatability that comes with cardiac care and the difficulty escalates even higher. Routine tasks of cardiac monitoring take away the spotlight from the patient.

While cardiac monitoring that automates iterative tasks is the solution, not all of them are ideal. Some can be particularly difficult to incorporate, with technology adding to the complexity of the workflow. But modern, near real-time cardiac monitoring solutions such as those we provide here at Cardiac Rhythm are helping to ease this transition through EMR integration options while offering cardiologists better control of the:

1. Diagnosis
2. Feedback
3. Biosensor
4. Patient outcomes

Ultimately, a lot of time is created with the efficiency of this new workflow, with these healthcare professionals able to channel these resources into spending time with patients rather than their data. This is further compounded by Cardiac Rhythm’s personalized workflow tracking tools.

4. Cardiologists can pick out silent heart attacks with continuous, near-real-time monitoring

How many heart attacks are asymptomatic? The Cleveland Clinic estimates that 5 to 8 in 10 people experience silent cardiac arrest. The problem with these is that they are easy to miss, especially when the monitoring process is discontinuous and delayed. And when that happens, a silent heart attack can build up to something even worse, and eventually be a predicament for heart failure.

Near-real-time, continuous monitoring is the answer once more. With our bio-sensors for example, the patient’s heart electrical activity can be recorded 24/7 even for monitoring durations of up to 7 days. This makes up more than enough time for physicians to uncover asymptomatic episodes related to cardiac arrests and even silent arrythmias at large. There’s the early discovery of asymptomatic cases and thus the prompt implementation of a treatment plan.

5. Near-real-time monitoring collects richer data points

Let’s consider cases where monitoring is done within the hospital, devoid of always-on monitoring systems with monitoring durations only confined to in-person patient visits. In such cases, the data sets that cardiologists obtain can deviate from the true value in the sense that:

1. Patient anxiety can play a part in the results
2. Factors of everyday life are not taken into account
3. There is a limited window of data to work with in the first place

However, that all changes when physicians have near real-time access to these important vitals. Cardiologists can monitor patients from within their familiar home setting, and even possibly identify triggers and causes within this environment that may be aggravating their condition. What’s more, with patients in more comfortable surroundings, the emotional highs of a single moment don’t taint the results. In the end, doctors get a more accurate account of the true vitals of the subject as they go about their day-to-day.

Last but not least, near-real-time monitoring also enables a more proactive approach to problem resolution. Cardiologists can pick out issues with treatment in advance before it gets to the point of emergency care, thus lowering hospitalization and rehospitalization

6. Improve your cardiac care with near-real time monitoring today

The power of near-real-time heart rate monitoring devices over legacy monitoring is undeniable. They ensure more efficiency and productivity in your clinical workflow while enriching patient engagement and satisfaction. If your care facility relies on legacy cardiac monitoring that suffers from lapses of care, it’s about time you switched to a new solution that can reinforce your care quality. Let our technology help you tap into these and more benefits of near-real-time monitors. Lower your time-to-diagnosis, diagnose arrythmias quickly, and leave nothing up to chance with Cardiac Rhythm. Contact us today to get started.

Tags: cardiac monitoring device, heart rate monitoring devices, near real time monitors