Growth and Financial Outcomes of a Remote Physiologic Monitoring Service for Hypertension in the Primary Care Setting

Remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) presents a promising solution for hypertension management through efficient blood pressure monitoring outside of the traditional clinic setting utilizing monitors that transmit readings automatically to the healthcare team. Barriers to adoption of RPM include addressing the challenge of managing continuous streams of data, patient capability, and financial sustainability. The impacts of different RPM models on enrollment and financial outcomes are unknown.

The primary objective of this study was to describe the operationalization and expansion of a pharmacist-led RPM service for hypertension in primary care, highlighting its two phases and describing the financial considerations associated with the program.

Retrospective descriptive study using a data analytics platform, operational logs, and chart review of the electronic health record.

Patients enrolled in the hypertension RPM service from July 1, 2022, to May 21, 2024.

Number of patients enrolled per month, average duration of enrollment for patients in the program, frequency and categorical distribution of RPM codes billed, average charges submitted per patient enrolled, and average reimbursement per patient enrolled.

Phase 1, which took place over 14 months, included 140 patients with average charges submitted of $301.46 per patient and average reimbursement of $96.30. The average enrollment duration was 155 days. Phase 2, which took place over 9 months, included 167 patients, with average charges of $412.93 and average reimbursement of $124.17 per patient. Average enrollment duration was 63 days. The categorical distribution of codes billed differed significantly between the two phases (p-value < 0.001).

Using clinic-owned Bluetooth-enabled BP monitors that were reused kept the costs of the program low but may have limited enrollment. Use of vendor-provided cellular-enabled monitors was more costly but may have facilitated additional billing opportunities and program growth. Pharmacists play a central role in delivering RPM services.