Date of Award

12-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Industrial Engineering

Committee Chair/Advisor

Dr. Kapil Chalil Madathil

Committee Member

Dr. Sudeep Hegde

Committee Member

Dr. Patrick Rosopa

Abstract

Remote patient monitoring (RPM), which provides continuous monitoring of vital signs, has become increasingly utilized in patients with heart failure (HF). As this condition impacts more than 26 million Americans each year, it is important to determine the barriers and facilitators of RPM to both improve patient care and help medical professionals make more informed medical decisions. To determine these barriers and facilitators, our research team partnered with Prisma Health-Upstate to interview healthcare professionals working at Carolina Cardiology Consultants--Greenville, which uses multiple RPM systems to monitor heart failure patients.

The twelve interviews conducted support that healthcare professionals would benefit from an integrated RPM and electronic medical record system as it would reduce time and increase the efficiency of relaying medical information to the healthcare personnel responsible for changing or developing a modified treatment plan. Our data also suggest that certain limitations to RPM must be addressed to improve patient safety and outcomes. These limitations include a high demand with limited staffing, non-integrated or standardized RPM systems, and communication challenges between the medical personnel and patients.

Interview data were grouped in a hierarchal system of themes, subthemes, and bases to understand overarching, recurring topics. Once interview data were analyzed and grouped, potential solutions for addressing the barriers of multiplatform RPM as well as the aspects that would enhance these systems were developed. Future research should focus on both identifying additional design improvements based on the barriers and facilitators identified and implementing them in multiplatform HF RPM systems.

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