ForaCare Inc.
Accurate Remote Patient Monitoring

A global business with over two decades of experience, ForaCare Inc. has been dedicated to the design, development, and marketing of products for chronic disease management. The company has carved a unique niche for itself in the U.S. market by combining innovative technologies with clinical applications. By utilizing advanced information technology and integrated remote monitoring, ForaCare has established an efficient and effective healthcare management platform to serve healthcare professionals and patients at a minimal cost.

ForaCare’s products and solutions are designed and developed to cover chronic disease management with a focus on diabetes, hypertension, and CHF. Through its remote monitoring technology, ForaCare turns biometric data into useful and accessible health information. This enables physicians to access real-time data to prevent complications and significantly improve a patient’s quality of life. In addition, patients and their family members feel comfortable knowing that they are being monitored and will be supported if any problems arise. In an interview with CIO Applications, Adrian Alexander, Senior Account Manager for ForaCare, provides his insights on the positive impact the company is having in the remote patient monitoring space through its telehealth system.

From your interactions with healthcare institutions, what do you think are the challenges they face, and how is ForaCare effectively addressing these issues?

The biggest challenge for our clients is making the end consumers understand how remote patient monitoring really works. To this end, we provide a simple process which inclines patients to adopt an easy-to-use solution. We are quick to point the client in the right direction and help them implement the best telehealth option. We also ensure that we provide very reasonable pricing for our software and other devices.

When it comes to pointing clients in the right direction, is there a process that ForaCare follows?

The process is very simple. In every conversation with our clients, we listen to them carefully and understand the solution they want to implement. Once we understand the client’s specific needs, their existing workflow, and the way they are planning to use the equipment, it becomes easy to suggest particular devices from which they can reap optimum benefits.

Even if it is a device that we don’t provide, we always ensure that we lead them in the right direction. Ultimately, it is about fulfilling the clients’ needs and providing them with a competent remote patient monitoring system—that’s what we strive to do, day in and day out.

Let’s discuss the underlying concepts of ForaCare’s remote patient monitoring system and its unique features and functionalities.

The underlying principle of our solution is that we can provide different levels of service according to the client’s needs. We can use wired or wireless devices to set up a synchronized remote patient monitoring system. Within the wireless devices, we have Bluetooth and 3G devices which are connected either through software or directly to our telehealth system at the backend. This provides doctors with the ability to see results in real-time. For example, if they need to take care of a diabetic patient, our devices can measure the condition and show them the results in seconds. On the compliance side, FORA’s HIPAA-compliant 24/7 HealthView System provides tools that empower healthcare professionals and caregivers to remotely monitor their patients’ health conditions. The system supports various measurement data uploads including blood glucose, blood pressure, temperature, blood oxygen, and weight. Patients’ test results are sent via a cellular connection using the FORA Gateway or mobile app to the 24/7 HealthView cloud. If the results are abnormal or out-of-range, the doctor can take action by contacting the patient to prevent hospitalization.

How does your remote patient monitoring system work for the healthcare institutions? What steers you ahead of other vendors?

Our biggest advantage is the adaptability of our RPM system to quickly integrate with other EHRs, and our strong encryption of patient data in transit. None of the data in transit contains any electronic protected health information (ePHI) until it reaches the telehealth system.

The basic and most helpful feature is that the system is quick; it can produce results within seconds and alert physicians and caregivers to an abnormal reading through a simple text or email.

We have developed a one-stop solution for healthcare providers to review physiological parameters, coordinate, and manage overall patient care remotely. What makes it a one-stop-shop? Well, we have our lab to develop the software. All the devices associated with the software are manufactured at our facility, and there’s no middle man involved, as opposed to some of our competitors. In many cases, other providers might only have the middleware— that’s what makes us different from other companies.

Could you cite a case study on how ForaCare enabled its client to overcome hurdles and achieve desired outcomes?

In one instance, a medical group in Florida was facing a major problem with the patients not being compliant with HIPAA regulations. The main reason behind this was the group’s inability to communicate with patients in a proper way. We implemented a process where patients were handed a device which enabled them to measure their own condition. This was followed by a doctor obtaining the compliant data seamlessly, as everything is run through the device.

How does ForaCare keep track of the right ingredients needed to build a relevant solutions portfolio?How does ForaCare ensure that its offerings help healthcare institutions fulfill the real-world requirements?

We constantly communicate with our customers to understand existing and future trends. Based on their feedback and demands, we continually update our systems by adding new features and functionalities.

We also invest heavily in R&D to come up with new products that are simple, easier to use, and more efficient. This is one of the major factors that steer us ahead of the competition, other than our quick response time to the clients’ problems.

What does the future hold for ForaCare?

We have recently started experimenting with 4G, which makes us one of the front runners in the remote patient monitoring space. Moving ahead, we will be developing a new cellular Gateway for our devices to communicate. Other than that, we are also working on advancing the technologies of our current nebulizer and weight scale by adding Bluetooth and built-in Wi-Fi, respectively. This will enable quicker communication between doctors and patients.