The results of the 2023 Hypertension Care Survey, an analysis of patients with hypertension, have revealed essential insights into how remote patient monitoring (RPM) can benefit these patients. Of particular interest is the majority of people surveyed agree that using a connected blood pressure monitor that sends their readings directly to their provider would help them better manage their condition.

There are more than 65 million Americans that suffer from high blood pressure and 53% of those surveyed said that if they knew their results were being sent to their provider, they would test more consistently. In addition, 53% also said that an RPM program could help them better manage their disease.

“Having a remote patient monitoring program for individuals with hypertension or people that are at-risk for hypertension provides many advantages to the patient and their physician,” said Dr. Bill Lewis, a national telemedicine consultant and prior Chair of the Telemedicine Accreditation Committee. “Sending their results immediately with cellular-connected devices provides accountability to the patient and visibility to the doctor.”

In addition, there is an incredible opportunity for RPM companies to grow their business. Only 42% of survey respondents said they have heard of or are currently enrolled in a remote patient monitoring program, meaning that many healthcare practices and systems are missing out on a valuable care tool. Establishing an RPM program has never been easier thanks to advanced cellular-connected devices that provide immediate, secure, and reliable transmission of readings.

“Healthcare providers can help improve patient outcomes when they utilize a remote patient monitoring program from one of our partners,” said Smart Meter CEO Casey Pittock. “We have seen many cases of improved patient adherence to their testing protocols when patients know their doctor can immediately review their results. This improved testing adherence delivers more reliable data, facilitating the providers’ ability to make care plan updates.”

Smart Meter’s cellular-enabled iBloodPressure® systems offer patients an easy way to test, with readings sent immediately to a provider through the only private RPM network in the US.

About Smart Meter, LLC

Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring ("RPM") solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care and today are used by over 200,000 patients in the US. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our secure platform, enabling SmartPartners to provide real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T IoT Private Data Network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com.

New proprietary monitoring devices combine the most patient-friendly experience with the only Private Data Network purpose-built for remote patient monitoring

Smart Meter, the number one supplier of remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices, data, and services, supporting a nationwide network of SmartPartners, will unveil three new products at the HIMSS Global Conference next week in Chicago. SmartPartners can dramatically expand their solutions using these new health monitoring tools, helping providers better care for patients with various chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and weight management.

Smart Meter will have many new product launch activities during the HIMSS conference, with the new monitors included in the AT&T Healthcare Tech Innovation display. This showcase features leading solutions that imbue AT&T IoT Connectivity. Additionally, the two companies will lead a presentation on the importance of ensuring the security of patient data in connected care models.

"Smart Meter is proud to expand our line of proprietary monitoring devices that combine patient-friendly technologies with robust security," said Bill Bassett, Chief Marketing Officer, Smart Meter. "Our devices can only connect and transmit patient-generated health data when connected to our exclusive Private Data Network custom built with AT&T and Cisco, ensuring that patient data is protected from alteration, eavesdropping, data mining, or interception."

To learn more about these new products, please visit Smart Meter’s booth # 7512 at HIMSS starting April 18, 2023 at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

About Smart Meter, LLC
Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring ("RPM") solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our secure platform, enabling SmartPartners to provide real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T IoT Private Data Network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com.

DURHAM, N.C., March 27, 2023 -- Validic Inc., a market-leading digital health and personalized care company, continues to expand its healthcare IoT platform with the integration of Smart Meter. This integration brings exclusive cellular-enabled, patient-friendly monitoring devices supplied by Smart Meter, a leading connected health solution supplier to a rapidly growing nationwide network of SmartPartners, to the Validic ecosystem.

Smart Meter's proprietary, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G private data network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. The devices help manage the most prevalent chronic conditions, including blood glucose monitors for diabetes; blood pressure monitors for hypertension and other cardiac diseases; pulse oximeters for COPD, COVID-19, and other respiratory disorders; and weight scales for congestive heart failure and weight-related diseases.

"Our proprietary monitoring devices can only connect and transmit patient-generated data when connected to our private data network, ensuring reliable and secure delivery to Validic clients," said Smart Meter Chief Marketing Officer Bill Bassett. "And eliminating the need for patients to pair, sync or connect to Wi-Fi or an app on their phone may improve patient satisfaction and increase the use of their monitoring devices."

Validic's health IoT platform is the largest ecosystem of connected health devices and apps, which streams continuous, near-real-time personal health data from 540+ home health and wearable devices. Organizations can access blood pressure, pulse oxygen, blood glucose, heart rate, weight, temperature, sleep, nutrition, respiratory, activity data, and more through a single, endpoint connection.

"Technology should be so easy to use that it becomes invisible to the person using it," said Validic CEO Drew Schiller. "The addition of Smart Meter cellular-enabled health monitoring devices to our ecosystem offers another option to help people focus on their health and live their best lives."

Validic clients can request the addition of Smart Meter connected health devices to their marketplace by submitting a request to support@validic.com.

About Validic

Founded in 2010, Validic Inc. is a digital health and personalized care company devoted to our mission of improving the quality of human life by making personal data actionable. With the world's largest health IoT platform and EHR-embedded remote care application, we help healthcare organizations give every person tailored interventions and personalized care, improving healthcare efficiency and delivery, and empowering people to play an active role in their health and well-being.

Leading healthcare providers, health plans and health IT companies, such as Mass General Brigham, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, CVS Health and Elevance Health, use our solutions to deliver high-touch and personalized chronic condition management, remote care, and support for healthy living. With a platform intentionally built to support a broad digital health strategy and scale across populations and conditions, Validic supports the largest RPM program in the country, with more than 300,000 enrolled patients since its inception and 7,000 referring providers. Our digital health platform has 540+ supported devices with more than 15 billion annual data transactions. Our remote care solution is available as a standard integration in the Epic Connection Hub and Cerner Millennium^®.

In 2022, Validic received the North American Customer Value Award for the Medical Device Connectivity Industry by Frost and Sullivan and was named Best Overall Connected Healthcare Solution by MedTech Breakthrough. Validic is HIPAA-compliant, HITRUST CSF Certified®, and ISO-27001 certified for Information Security Management. Visit Validic.com and follow @Validic on Twitter and LinkedIN to learn more.

About Smart Meter

Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring ("RPM") solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our secure platform, enabling SmartPartners™ to provide real-time, better-informed health care. The proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G private data network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com.

White Paper Offers Data Security Guidance for remote patient monitoring from the Only Private Data Network Company for RPM

Smart Meter, the number one Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solution supplier to the largest nationwide network of SmartPartners, is releasing data security guidance for companies that provide remote patient monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring programs to the healthcare industry. The paper "The Importance of Health Data Security Workflows in Remote Patient Monitoring and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring" reviews emerging data security threats from overseas monitoring device vendors and the associated costs of exposing patient data to security breaches.

According to recent data released by the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 51 million people in the U.S. were affected by healthcare data breaches in 2022.¹ The Smart Meter guidance discusses emerging threats and best practices of standard security protocols that RPM companies should consider when evaluating their vendors and data networks regarding patient-generated health data security.

A report from West Monroe Partner’s concluded that 35 percent of healthcare organizations surveyed held more than 50 percent of data or infrastructure in the cloud. Healthcare thus proved to be the farthest along with cloud adoption when compared to other industries.² In addition, an AT&T 2022 Cybersecurity Insight Report noted that “while for most other industries ransomware attacks are the number one concern, healthcare sees two other attack vectors as top-of-mind ahead of ransomware:  the potential for attacks against servers or data at the network edge and attacks against associated cloud workloads.”³

“Smart Meter has created one of the most secure networks in all of healthcare, not just the remote patient monitoring (RPM) sector," stated Casey Pittock, CEO of Smart Meter, LLC. "We have made significant investments over the past several years to embed proprietary security protocols in our RPM devices, platform, and network to ensure patient health data can only be transmitted when connected to our exclusive and secure Private Data Network for RPM.”

There are multiple areas in the RPM data management workflows where a lack of security protocols might expose vulnerabilities allowing access to highly desirable patient data. Successful, trusted device and data vendors follow best practices in data security to ensure RPM companies do not suffer the potential business continuity issues associated with security breaches. Download a copy of the health data security workflows paper here.

About Smart Meter, LLC
Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring ("RPM") solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our secure platform, enabling SmartPartners™ to provide real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G private data network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com.

References

1. As data breaches surge, your medical info is vulnerable to hackers (usatoday.com)
2. AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: A Focus on Healthcare | AT&T Cybersecurity (att.com)
3. 5 Ways Cloud Computing Is Impacting Healthcare (healthitoutcomes.com)

Leading providers in digital care and remote patient monitoring better equip health systems to support thousands of patients living with Type 2 Diabetes

Lark Health, a leading digital care company for the prevention and management of chronic conditions, and Smart Meter, the leading supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™, today announced a collaboration targeting the care and management of patients with type 2 diabetes across health systems. Lark’s clinically proven Diabetes management program, Diabetes Care, combined with the proprietary cellular-enabled iGlucose® glucose meter from Smart Meter, will improve health systems' ability to manage patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Lark’s Diabetes Care program delivers real-time value and helps close gaps in care for persons with diabetes. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) care coaching program empowers patients and provides 24/7 unlimited text-message care coaching. Lark’s Diabetes Care program tracks medical appointments, A1c tests, kidney disease screenings, eye exams, flu shots, blood pressure tests, and cholesterol tests to close gaps in care and improve patients’ health through care coordination, education, and engagement. In addition, Lark’s digital coaching also tracks medication adherence for patients, helping address barriers when medication adherence is reported at less than 100%.

Lark’s platform monitors glucose, activity, mood, nutrition, and sleep data, illuminating trends of physical and mental health and activity over time, and leverages those insights to provide real-time, text message-like coaching for the patient. Clinically defined crises, such as severe glucose spikes or barriers to medication adherence, can trigger Lark to connect members to a telephonic or virtual resource and to share relevant information, such as glucose levels and medication adherence patterns.

“While we know regularly tracking blood sugar levels is a critical component of managing Type 2 Diabetes, that data is often siloed and left out of the physician’s purview,” said Dr. Lynne Nowak, Chief Medical Officer, Lark Health. “The combination of Lark’s engaging AI care coach with the accuracy and RPM technology of Smart Meter’s iGlucose monitor will increase adherence, improve glucose control, and support health systems in delivering efficient, cost-effective care to more patients. Our work with Smart Meter extends our mission of optimizing digital care to support those living with chronic diseases and emphasizes the power digital care technology can have on improving patients’ lives. We are also excited to help providers enter into more risk-based payment arrangements with confidence knowing their patients with diabetes are getting additional coaching support and achieving their clinical quality goals.”

Smart Meter’s iGlucose glucose meter helps patients quickly and easily test their blood sugar levels. It automatically sends glucose readings to the patient’s physician. The iGlucose meter provides accurate blood sugar measurements. It is the optimal solution for patients where continuous glucose monitoring is not an option due to CGM's high cost and complexity. With iGlucose, the patient’s glucose data is reliably delivered to Lark and physicians from Smart Meter via the first and only private data network for remote patient monitoring.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Lark to deliver reliable glucose readings from our high-quality patient devices to Lark’s proven coaching solution,” said Casey Pittock, Chief Executive Office of Smart Meter. “Health systems will benefit from using this powerful combination of technologies better to manage the care and treatment of patients with Diabetes.”

Lark will be at the upcoming ViVE conference in Nashville, TN, from March 26 - 29 at booth V-2226. If you are attending, please schedule a time to meet with us at the show by filling out this form.

About Lark Health
Lark Health is a digital health technology company that delivers infinitely scalable, accessible digital chronic condition prevention and management coaching. To-date, Lark has provided 2 million people with real-time, 24/7 personalized care coaching delivered through an easy-to-use, text message-like interface. Through conversational AI, connected devices, remote patient monitoring, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, Lark helps patients improve their health to manage and reduce their risk of chronic disease. Lark's scalable platform seamlessly integrates with health plans' and employers' existing healthcare infrastructure to support their chronic care prevention and management programs. Lark currently works with many of the largest health plans across five programs: Prevention, Heart Health, Diabetes Prevention, Diabetes Management, and Hypertension Management. Lark's Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), the fastest-growing and lowest-cost DPP, has received Full Recognition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The company has received numerous accolades, including having been named as one of CB Insights Digital Health 150 (2019), a finalist for the UCSF Digital Health Awards (2022), one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies (multiple years), and one of Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 (2020). To learn more, visit www.lark.com.

 

About Smart Meter, LLC
Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our platform enabling SmartPartners to provide real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G IPSec private network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com

BlueStar Telehealth,  a service-disabled-veteran-owned business providing in-home population health solutions to FQHC, Hospitals, and Payers, and Smart Meter, the leading supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™, today announced continued success helping patients manage their blood pressure. As part of an 18-week Remote Patient Monitoring program, 42% of the 524 FQHC patients with AHA Stage II Hypertension had their Hypertension “controlled” within 10 weeks, with an average drop in Systolic Blood Pressure of 16 mmHG.

FQHCs in Maine, California, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana received HRSA grants and engaged BlueStar Telehealth to provide the hardware, software, logistics, and nurse monitoring to implement the RPM program for their patients. BlueStar enrolled patients, shipped equipment, and monitored the patient populations over the 18-week period. Of approximately 2000 patients in the program, 524 had “uncontrolled” hypertension, as defined by the CDC. All of the patients who participated in the program were provided a cellular-connected iBloodPressure® monitoring device from Smart Meter to help monitor their blood pressure at home.

“At the time of program enrollment, 100% of the 524 patients were classified as having AHA Stage II (uncontrolled) Hypertension,” said Dr. Michael Rolli, Chief Medical Officer of BlueStar Telehealth. “Within 10 weeks, only 58% of those in the program remained classified as having “uncontrolled” Hypertension. Part of the success is attributed to the ease of use by patients to take their vital signs using the cellular-enabled blood pressure monitors by Smart Meter.”

The program included additional findings that demonstrated improvement in the remaining 304 patients with “uncontrolled” Hypertension. In this group, the mean Systolic BP dropped from 153 to 137 mmHg and the mean Diastolic BP dropped from 96 to 87 mmHg within 10 weeks

“We are so pleased that BlueStar Telehealth continues to have tremendous success in their mission to improve the management of health care,” said Bill Bassett, Chief Marketing Officer at Smart Meter. “The BlueStar Telehealth program is a blueprint on how to improve the health of the 100 million Americans with Hypertension.”

The in-home Remote Patient Monitoring Program (RPM) managed by BlueStar is funded by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) via grants to Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHC). The program uses RPM to help patients manage hypertension to reduce the likelihood of strokes, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular events.

The proprietary cellular-enabled devices delivering reliable secure testing data using the only Private Data Network for RPM by Smart Meter will ensure the achievement of project goals. Healthcare organizations can trust that the patient-generated health data from Smart Meter’s device and data ecosystem is securely delivered in real-time without the data security and HIPAA issues that may be prevalent in other RPM devices that use the public internet for data transmission. Healthcare organizations can more easily support their patient’s disease management programs with the easiest-to-use home-based monitoring devices. The ease of use supports improved patient adherence to care plan instructions leading to improved outcomes and higher patient satisfaction.

About BlueStar TeleHealth
BlueStar Telehealth is a service-disabled-veteran-owned business providing in-home population health solutions to FQHC, Hospitals, and Payers, including RPM, Chronic Care Management (CCM), Transitional Care Management, and Maternal Health Solutions. Serving thousands of patients across the country, BlueStar has been engaged by several FQHCs to provide full-service RPM and CCM solutions under the HRSA grants. The Best Population Health Management Solutions – Bluestar (bluestartelehealth.com)

About Smart Meter, LLC
Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our platform enabling SmartPartners to provide real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G IPSec private network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com

With many healthcare organizations dealing with the triple threat of rising cases of flu,  respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID, there has never been a more important time to monitor at-risk patients in real-time. With Smart Meter’s iPulseOx, the world’s first cellular-enabled pulse oximeter, providers can instantly see a person’s oxygen saturation level and take steps necessary to help prevent adverse events.

The CDC has recorded at least 8.7 million cases of flu, including 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths, since October, according to published reports. Each year, it is estimated that between 60,000-120,000 older adults in the United States are hospitalized and 6,000-10,000 of them die due to RSV infection¹. Meanwhile, COVID cases also continue to increase. For the first week of December, there was a 22 percent increase in cases as compared to the previous two weeks.²

"The combination of surging flu, RSV, and COVID-19 cases is pushing hospitals past their current ICU bed capacity," health officer and state epidemiologist at Oregon Health Authority Dean Sidelinger, MD, said in a press briefing on Dec. 8. "This year's influenza season has begun earlier than it normally does, and we are seeing high levels of influenza nationwide."

All these illnesses affect the respiratory system, can lead to more serious health issues and can become life threatening. People who are 65 years or older are at the greatest risk of complications and death from the flu. The CDC estimates that these people make up 54 to 70 percent of flu-related hospital visits.

When a physician has real-time oxygen saturation readings, they can make immediate decisions regarding their patients. Transmission of readings from the iPulseOx is sent via an exclusive 4/5G AT&T network so a provider knows they are getting the most immediate and accurate data possible from their patient.

“Smart Meter’s nationwide network of SmartPartners^TM work directly with care providers delivering real-time health data using remote patient monitoring for patients with respiratory disorders,” said Bill Bassett, Smart Meter’s Chief Marketing Officer. “SmartPartners^TM leverage exclusive cellular connectivity built into our iPulseOx solution, simplifying how patients measure their oxygen saturation readings without needing to log the results, which helps patients increase their testing adherence and provides physicians with accurate data for better intervention management.”

About Smart Meter, LLC
Smart Meter is the number one supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions to a nationwide network of SmartPartners™ who are transforming patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our platform enabling SmartPartners™ to deliver real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary, patient-friendly, cellular, FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com

¹ RSV is on the rise among older adults as the hospitalization rate climbs to 10 times higher than usual (yahoo.com)

² U.S. COVID cases are climbing again as new omicron variants spread - MarketWatch

 

The results of the Diabetes Care Survey, a longitudinal analysis of patients with Type 2 diabetes in the United States, have been released for 2022, providing insights into how remote patient monitoring (RPM) can benefit patients with chronic conditions. Although remote blood glucose monitoring (RBGM) has surged in the last couple of years, 63 percent of the people surveyed said their glucometer does not send their glucose reading to their provider.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.3 million people have diabetes, representing 11.3 percent of the US population. Of these, approximately 90 to 95 percent have type 2 diabetes.

One study found that about 45 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes don’t adequately control their glucose levels.¹ Testing their glucose and knowing their reading on a regular basis can help these patients and their physician better manage their disease. Without test results automatically being sent to their doctor, patients still have the laborious task of writing down their readings and then remembering to take them to their next doctor’s appointment.

“Written glucose logs, some research postulates, are inaccurate or falsified up to 50% of the time,” said Ronald Tamler, MD, PhD, CDE, clinical director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center and associate professor of medicine at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.² “Having this specific information allows your care provider to treat your diabetes better. But with so little patients bringing what is probably the most important tool in their management of diabetes, what is a physician to do?”

With cellular-enabled RBGM solutions, providers are assured of receiving reliable, dependable, and accurate data every time a patient tests their blood glucose. This can help identify trends, prevent hospitalization, and improve outcomes. Remote blood glucose monitoring is also reimbursable for providers.

“Smart Meter’s nationwide network of SmartPartners^TM work directly with care providers delivering real-time health data using remote patient monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes,” said Bill Bassett, Smart Meter’s Chief Marketing Officer. “SmartPartners leverage exclusive cellular connectivity built into our iGlucose Diabetes Management Solution, simplifying how patients measure their glucose readings without needing to log the results or wear bulky, uncomfortable equipment. Remote blood glucose monitoring helps patients increase their testing adherence and provides physicians with accurate data for better intervention management.”

Currently, any organization can receive $20 for every Bluetooth-enabled or competitive cellular-enabled device you replace with a Smart Meter cellular-enabled device, including the iGlucose for people with Type 2 diabetes.

You can view the complete results of the Diabetes Care Survey here.

About Smart Meter, LLC

Smart Meter is the trusted supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) solutions. We empower a nationwide network of SmartPartners^TM who are working directly with healthcare providers to transform patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our platform to enable real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary patient-friendly cellular FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com

¹ Poor medication adherence in type 2 diabetes: recognizing the scope of the problem and its key contributors - PMC (nih.gov)

² Doctors Want To See Your Glucose Meter | Prevention