Experiences of Clinicians Caring for Patients Receiving Continuous Physiological Monitoring in a Remote Location

Introduction: Continuous remote patient monitoring (CRPM) is a real-time healthcare approach that utilizes digital devices to track patients’ vital signs and health data outside traditional clinical settings. This innovative technology allows healthcare providers to monitor and respond proactively to patients’ conditions and can significantly enhance early intervention and personalized care. CRPM, which gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, has provided a unique opportunity for researchers to study its successes and barriers, paving the way for a promising future in patient care delivery.

Materials and methods: The study team conducted semi-structured interviews to describe the nursing perceptions and care requirements of patients receiving CRPM at home. We conducted a theory-guided thematic analysis with deductive coding to theory constructs followed by inductive analysis of data within each construct. Themes were developed from inductive coding.

Results: Three themes emerged from data analysis. One theme was personal connection, where virtual nurses built solid connections with patients and their families despite being in a remote environment. Another theme was technical support in which nurses spent multiple hours providing technical support and education for the wearable continuous physiological monitoring equipment, specifically at the initial setup of the equipment in the patient’s home. A third theme was the rapid identification of decompensation. Nurses reported the ability to quickly identify signs of decompensation, such as decreasing blood oxygen levels after virtual interactions with the patient, and transfer the patient to a higher level of care – generally, readmission into the hospital. We are in the final stages of data analysis; any additional emergent themes will be available for presentation.

Conclusions: Our study has extracted invaluable insights from the virtual nurse’s perspective in continuously monitoring patients in remote locations. The knowledge gained from this study supports the concept of virtual nurses providing safe, reliable care and expanding access to inpatient monitoring capability in the home. The combination of virtual nursing and continuous physiological monitoring holds promise in expanding care capacities in wartime settings by connecting military clinicians from a field hospital location to service members needing monitoring at lower levels of care. The potential of wearable continuous physiological monitoring technology to all deployed military clinical teams to focus on injured service members needing immediate attention is a significant finding. After stabilizing the patient on or near the battlefield, these clinical teams can access the need for transportation to a higher level of care, thereby potentially saving lives. This broader impact of our research on military applications underscores the significance of our findings.