A Research Proposal On Remote Home Monitoring (RHM) In Australia

Question: Discuss about the Research Proposal On Remote Home Monitoring In Australia. Answer: Literature Review The idea of integrating the RHM in the Australian market began in early 2008. This new technology would meet the increasing monitoring demands in Australia. The first monitor was connected in 2010, and since then many other monitors have been connected. The RHM has helped in monitoring the elderly, the chronically ill patients or the patients with mobility problems who suffer from different diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems and other forms of illness. RHM has helped the healthcare teams to monitor the medical conditions of the patients regularly and offer medical attention where necessary (The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2017). RHM has resulted in improved healthcare in Australia. However, it has been faced with various challenges which have limited its full potential in Australia. Some challenges facing RHM include patients non-compliance, high costs and reimbursements, and interference with the secrecy of patients health data which makes the patients not comfortable with the system (Panchakarla, 2017). Objectives of the research proposal To compare and contrast face to face medical follow-up and the remote home monitoring (RHM) methods used to gather health data. To discuss the problems of the traditional face to face medical follow-up and encourage many people to embrace the new technology of RHM. The research questions What are the similarities and differences between face to face medical follow-up and the RHM? Approximately, what is the percentage of people who use the RHM in Australia today? What are some problems of the face to face medical checkup which have been overcome by the RHM method? Hypothesis A bigger percentage of patients use the face to face medical checkup rather than the RHM method. The face to face medical checkup is better than the RHM method. A comparison of the face to face medical follow-up and the RHM methods Similarities Both methods are used in by health officers to gather the patients data for them to offer the required medical attention. Both methods have helped to improve the health standards of the people. Differences The face to face medical follow-up consumes a lot of time as the patient has to travel to the clinic for a checkup as opposed to the RHM where the health conditions of the patient are monitored in his/her home. The face to face medical follow-up is not very effective and efficient as the patients may be late to arrive at the clinic only to miss the health officer or may miss attending the checkup at times due to various reasons. On the other hand, the RHM is very efficient as the RHM devices monitor the patient in his/her home at any time. The research design The methods of data collection In our research, we are going to use various methods to determine the number of people who use the face to face and the RHM methods. We will use a sample size of 1000 to determine the methods by these patients to alert the health officers of their medical conditions. We will use various methods to collect the required data. Examples of methods used in the data collection include direct interviews, questionnaires and conducting some surveys (Gill, 2008). A sample of a questionnaire form used in data collection S/N Name(optional) Age (years) Illness, e.g., diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, or any other Method used to medical attention (please tick accordingly) Face to face medical follow-up Remote Home Monitoring (RHM) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Results and analysis After carrying out our research and collecting the data from the 1000 patients selected randomly, we will obtain results which can be analyzed to give a reasonable estimate of the percentage of the people using the RHM method in Australia. The percentage of people using RHM will be obtained as follows: Discussion In the field of health, some problems which affect the patients include the long distance between the patients and the health centers, some patients are very weak to walk to the health centers, and long queues in hospitals where some patients may even die before they get medical attention. These problems are very common in the face to face medical checkup method. These problems have been overcome by the RHM method where the health conditions of the patients are monitored in their homes, and the health officers can attend to the patients according to their urgency. The patients wont have to walk all the way to the health centers to seek some medical attention. This has been very beneficial especially to the elderly and the people with some mobility problems. Conclusion As we have discussed above, the RHM is highly advantageous as compared to the face to face medical checkup method. Therefore, I would recommend this method to many people of Australia as it has helped to save the lives of many patients whose health conditions are monitored at their own homes and the doctors respond accordingly. References Coye, A. H. S. D., 2009. Remote patient management: technology-enabled innovation and evolving business models for chronic disease care. Health Affair, 28(1), pp. 126-135. Gill, K. S. a. B. C., 2008. Methods of data collection in qualitative research. British Dental Journal, Volume 204, pp. 291-295. Langreth, 2010. Why remote patient monitoring is overhyped. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlangreth/2010/11/18/why-telemedicine-is-overhyped/2/ Panchakarla, S., 2017. Challenges facing remote patient monitoring market detailed in new research report. Medical Health Life Science Research News, 24 August.Volume 6. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2017. Remote Monitoring Devices: A guide for General Practice, Melbourne: s.n.