The Growing Importance of Remote Care

Modern healthcare is changing. Patients increasingly expect convenient ways to connect with their clinicians, and practices are looking for better ways to manage care outside of the clinic. Remote care bridges this gap. It uses technology to monitor patients, facilitate communication, and provide continuous support from a distance. For medical practices, this shift presents an opportunity to extend their services, improve patient engagement, and operate more efficiently. Adopting a remote care model allows clinics to offer a higher level of service by maintaining an ongoing connection with their patients, which leads to better health outcomes and a stronger practice.

Here are the 10 leading companies in the remote care space

1. Actuvi

Actuvi is a digital health platform that functions as a digital extension of a clinic. It moves healthcare beyond the limitations of traditional, in-person appointments by creating a system for continuous and connected care. The platform is designed to be the central hub for a practice’s remote operations, using intelligent automation to manage patient monitoring, communication, and administrative tasks. It captures real-time patient data from multiple sources—including medical devices, apps, and patient self-reporting—and organizes it into a single, unified view. The platform also includes integrated telehealth capabilities, allowing clinics to conduct secure video calls and virtual visits directly within the Actuvi system. This allows care teams to make informed decisions based on up-to-date information. Actuvi provides the tools for practices of any size to launch, manage, and scale a successful remote care program.

Pros:

• Complete Practice Automation: Actuvi automates essential back-office operations. This includes time tracking for patient interactions, generating billing reports, and sending appointment or medication reminders to patients, which frees up staff to focus on patient care.
• AI-Driven Patient Compliance: Actuvi‘s AI automates patient engagement through text messages. This approach meets patients where they are, using familiar technology to enhance compliance with care plans and reduce the burden on staff.
• Unified Data Integration: The platform breaks down traditional data silos by integrating with existing EHR/EMR systems, medical devices, and other health applications. This creates a comprehensive and unified view of each patient’s health.
• Enhanced Patient Engagement: Patients are given a free and easy-to-use mobile app to report data, track their progress, and communicate securely with their care team. This direct line of communication keeps patients active in their own care.
• Customizable Care Plans: Medical practices can build their own custom assessments and monitoring plans, called “tracks,” to fit their specialty and patient needs. This ensures the monitoring is relevant and effective for different conditions.
• Proactive Clinical Intelligence: The system provides care teams with a dashboard showing key performance indicators and sends real-time alerts for abnormal patient readings. This allows staff to intervene quickly when a patient’s health data exceeds set thresholds.
• Designed for Scalability: Actuvi is built to grow with a practice, whether it is looking to expand its services or manage a capped patient roster more efficiently. It enables practices to expand their geographical reach.
• Full Implementation Support: Actuvi partners with clinics every step of the way. This includes building the custom program, training administrative and clinical staff, and providing ongoing support to ensure the program succeeds.

2. Healthie

Healthie is a platform for health and wellness professionals. It combines client engagement, back-office operations, and telehealth. It is designed for dietitians, health coaches, and other wellness practitioners to manage their practice.

Pros:

• Offers a comprehensive set of tools, including scheduling, billing, and an EHR.
• Includes a client-facing portal and mobile app for engagement.
• Features are tailored for wellness and nutrition-based practices.

Cons:

• Its broad wellness focus may not be specific enough for purely clinical remote monitoring.
• The wide range of features could be complex for a practice needing a simple solution.

3. MedM

MedM is a technology company focused on connected health solutions. Its platform collects data from hundreds of fitness and medical devices. The data is stored in the cloud and can be shared with caregivers or healthcare clinicians.

Pros:

• Supports a wide variety of connected medical and fitness devices.
• Offers white-label solutions for companies to launch a branded remote care service.
• Has an established global presence.

Cons:

• Functions more as a data collection tool than a full practice management solution.
• Requires integration with other systems for billing, scheduling, and clinical documentation.

4. Clara Health

Clara Health is a platform designed to help patients find and connect with clinical trials. While not a traditional remote care platform for clinics, it uses digital tools to connect patients with research and manage parts of the trial process remotely.

Pros:

• Provides patients with access to new treatment options.
• Uses technology to simplify the clinical trial enrollment process.
• Contributes to medical research by increasing patient participation.

Cons:

• It is not designed for routine clinical care or chronic condition management.
• The focus is on the specific workflow of clinical trials, not general practice needs.

5. Babyscripts

Babyscripts is a virtual care platform focused on obstetrics and gynecology. It provides remote monitoring for pregnant patients to manage their health between appointments and aims to reduce maternal health risks.

Pros:

• Highly specialized for pregnancy and postpartum care.
• Delivers educational content and reminders specific to the patient’s stage of pregnancy.
• Provides remote monitoring tools for issues like blood pressure.

Cons:

• Its use is limited to obstetrics and is not applicable to other medical specialties.
• A practice would need other software for non-pregnant patients.

6. Twill

Twill, formerly known as Happify Health, is a digital health platform focused on mental health and well-being. It provides digital therapeutics, coaching, and community support to help individuals manage their mental health.

Pros:

• Offers science-based activities and games to improve mental well-being.
• Provides care for a wide range of mental health needs.
• Connects users with a supportive community and professional coaches.

Cons:

• It is focused exclusively on mental health.
• The model is more wellness-oriented and may not fit into traditional clinical billing workflows.

7. Memora Health

Memora Health is an AI-powered platform that automates patient communication. It guides patients through their care episodes with proactive, conversational text messages, answering their questions and collecting information for the clinical team.

Pros:

• Automates routine patient communication, saving staff time.
• Uses AI to understand and respond to patient questions.
• Integrates with EHRs to digitize clinical workflows.

Cons:

• The primary focus is on communication rather than device-based data monitoring.
• Effectiveness depends on the quality of the AI and the specific clinical workflows it supports.

8. PatientLink

PatientLink provides solutions that help medical practices capture patient data through online forms. It allows patients to complete their paperwork from home before an appointment, and the data integrates directly into the practice’s EHR.

Pros:

• Reduces in-office wait times and manual data entry for staff.
• Integrates with a variety of EHR systems.
• Improves the accuracy of patient information.

Cons:

• It is a data-entry tool, not a remote care or monitoring platform.
• Its functionality is limited to pre-appointment information gathering.

9. VSee

VSee is a telehealth platform that provides tools for video consultations, medical exams, and remote patient monitoring. It is designed to be a simple and secure way for clinicians to see patients online.

Pros:

• Offers a HIPAA-compliant platform for virtual visits.
• Provides options for peripheral streaming for remote medical exams.
• The platform is configurable for different needs, from small clinics to large hospitals.

Cons:

• The core focus is on telehealth visits, with remote monitoring as a secondary feature.
• Some advanced features may require more technical setup.

10. CareSignal

CareSignal is a remote patient monitoring platform that uses automated phone calls and text messages to manage large patient populations. It focuses on accessibility, ensuring that patients without smartphones or internet access can still be monitored.

Pros:

• Accessible to patients without requiring smartphones or digital literacy.
• Scalable to manage thousands of patients with minimal staff effort.
• Clinically validated to improve outcomes for various chronic conditions.

Cons:

• Lacks video or app-based features for richer patient interaction.
• The interaction is less personal than direct communication with a care team member.

How to Choose the Best Remote Care Platform

When choosing a platform, consider these points:

• Your Practice’s Needs: Determine if you need a simple monitoring tool or a comprehensive platform with broad features.
• Ease of Use: The software should be simple for both your staff and your patients to ensure it gets used.
• Integration: A platform that integrates with your existing EHR will prevent duplicate work and reduce errors.
• Support: Look for a company that offers training and ongoing support to help you run your program successfully.
• Scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with your practice over time.

While each platform has its strengths, Actuvi stands out for practices seeking a comprehensive and scalable solution. Its focus on automating workflows, integrating all patient data into one view, and providing full implementation support makes it a strong choice for launching and growing a modern remote care program.