Doctors will monitor patients from home: Russia is preparing a massive transition to digital health monitoring

Queues at clinics and regular visits for simple monitoring of indicators may change in the coming years. In Russia, they are discussing the transition to mass home health monitoring: data from medical devices, electronic cards and artificial intelligence algorithms should help doctors notice dangerous changes in patients’ condition earlier.

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Medicine is gradually changing the usual model: the patient comes to the doctor not when the disease has already manifested itself, but when the system sees the risk in advance, writes xrust. This is exactly the model they want to develop in Russia by 2030.

The idea of ​​large-scale implementation of home health monitoring was presented as part of a discussion of new directions for the development of the social sphere. It is expected that millions of Russians will be able to be under constant digital surveillance without the need to regularly visit medical facilities just to check vital signs.

This is not about replacing doctors with technology. The main task is to ensure that the specialist receives information about the person’s condition in advance and can intervene before a slight deterioration turns into a serious problem.

What technologies can change medicine

The basis of the new system should be wearable devices and home medical devices.

These could be:

• smart watches and special medical bracelets;
• digital blood pressure monitors;
• devices for monitoring sugar levels;
• home heart monitors;
• other devices for remote monitoring.

Today, many people already use fitness bracelets that measure heart rate or sleep quality. However, medical monitoring requires a more serious level: the data should not just be stored in the application, but enter the system where specialists can analyze it.

In the future, artificial intelligence algorithms may help identify alarming changes: sudden surges in blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, or deterioration in the condition of chronic patients.

First of all, they will help the elderly and people with chronic diseases

Mass home monitoring is primarily needed not by young users of fitness gadgets, but by those who require constant medical attention.

These are patients with:

• cardiovascular diseases;
• diabetes;
• chronic lung diseases;
• other conditions that require regular monitoring.

It is these patients who most often face a situation where deterioration in health becomes noticeable too late.

For example, a person with hypertension may feel normal for months, but their blood pressure gradually worsens. If the system notices changes in advance, the doctor will be able to adjust treatment before complications arise.

A single digital card instead of medical history in papers

Another direction of digital medicine is the creation of a unified environment where information about the patient’s health will be stored.

Ideally, the doctor should have access to:

• test results;
• medical history;
• appointments of specialists;
• home device data;
• results of telemedicine consultations.

For the patient, this means fewer paper certificates and repeated examinations.

Today, when moving from one clinic to another, a person often has to collect medical information on his own. In the future, a digital system should make this process automatic.

Russia is already testing individual elements of the system

Despite the fact that the large-scale program is still at the proposal level, some regions are already using remote monitoring technologies.

For example, remote data transmission systems are used for patients with cardiovascular diseases and for monitoring certain indicators in people with diabetes.

Such projects show that digital medicine is gradually expanding beyond large cities and is beginning to be used where access to doctors is limited by distance.

Such solutions are especially important for small settlements, where the patient sometimes has to travel tens of kilometers for a consultation or simple examination.

Why artificial intelligence is becoming a part of medicine

World medicine is moving towards increasing the role of algorithms. The reason is simple: doctors have to work with a huge amount of information.

AI is already being used to analyze medical images, find patterns in data and help specialists make decisions.

Home health monitoring is becoming the next step in this trend. A computer does not replace a doctor, but it can quickly process thousands of indicators and draw the specialist’s attention to a potential problem.

For the healthcare system, this is also an economic issue. Preventing a complication of a chronic disease is usually cheaper than treating a patient after an emergency hospitalization.

How it works in other countries

Such systems are actively developing in countries with high life expectancy and an aging population.

In Japan and South Korea, remote monitoring technologies are used to monitor the elderly and patients with chronic diseases.

In the USA, remote medical monitoring has become a separate area of ​​insurance medicine. Companies are interested in patients being hospitalized less often, so they fund the use of home medical devices.

The Russian model is different in that it assumes government scaling through the healthcare system, and not just the use of paid services.

What will change for the average person

If the program is implemented, the patient will not have to constantly visit the clinic just to monitor indicators.

For example, a person with diabetes will be able to transmit sugar data to the doctor automatically. Patient with hypertension — receive blood pressure control without regular visits.

For relatives of older people, this can be an additional way to monitor the condition of loved ones, especially if they live separately.

However, technology does not eliminate the need for personal communication with a doctor. Medical devices will be able to show the risk, but the final treatment decision must be made by a specialist.

The main questions remain open

Despite its promise, digital medicine has serious challenges.

One of the main issues is the cost of equipment. If millions of patients need to use medical devices at home, decisions will need to be made about who will pay for them.

The protection of personal data is equally important. Medical information is one of the most sensitive types of data, so the system must have a high level of security.

There is also an infrastructure problem: in some localities there are still difficulties with stable Internet.

In addition, digital technologies will not be able to completely replace conventional medicine. Hospitals, clinics and doctors will still be essential.

Medicine of the future will start at home

The transition to home health monitoring could be one of the biggest changes in the Russian healthcare system in recent years.

If the technology is implemented, medicine will become more preventive: doctors will receive information not after the patient’s condition worsens, but in advance.

By 2030, digital maps, wearable devices and artificial intelligence can transform human health from periodic monitoring to an ongoing monitoring process.

Additional sources: TASS, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

Xrust Doctors will monitor patients from home: Russia is preparing a massive transition to digital health monitoring