Timothy Guetterman, Ph.D., M.A., assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has received the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Research’s Timely Topics in Telehealth/e-Health Research Seed Funding for the project, “Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Remote Patient Monitoring with a Health Equity Lens.” Guetterman is also a co-director of the Mixed Methods Program within the Department of Family Medicine.
The IHPI uses seed funding among its research members to generate new findings that may inform discussions regarding the future of telehealth and other mobile health technologies, both at Michigan Medicine and beyond. Research in telehealth at IHPI uses novel approaches to improve healthcare access, enhance the patient experience, reduce costs and provide more effective healthcare delivery.
The overarching goal of Guetterman’s proposal is to better understand the barriers and facilitators of remote patient monitoring (RPM) implementation for post-acute care. RPM is a type of telehealth that represents what many in the medical field consider a “substantial advance” over monitoring devices such as home blood pressure cuffs. Remote patient monitoring now typically includes a SIM-enabled tablet and connected devices that automatically transmit to the electronic health record. Examples of devices include blood pressure cuffs, scales, pulse oximetry, and temperature.
Guetterman, along with colleagues Karen Farris, Ph.D., senior associate dean and professor of Pharmacy Administration, as well as professor of Social and Administrative Sciences, and Reema Kadri of the Department of Family Medicine, plan to use a health equity framework to identify and describe patients who have received remote patient monitoring. Through this lens, they are particularly interested in examining issues related to disparities by race, income, gender identity, and language barriers. They will also compare health outcomes of those who have used RPM compared to those who have not through a matched cohort and will attempt to understand the experiences of patients and providers with RPM through a qualitative and mixed methods analysis.
As part of the study, Guetterman et al will examine Michigan Medicine clinical data to understand the use of RPM since November 2020, including looking at billing documentation.
“Examining the current use of remote patient monitoring in Michigan Medicine will provide a better understanding of the facilitators and barriers to RPM implementation that can inform future strategies and scalability,” Guetterman said. “Results can also inform larger scale implementation research.”
To learn more about IHPI’s Telehealth Research and Policy work, click here.
