Omron Healthcare launches heart-focused remote patient monitoring

Omron Healthcare has introduced its remote patient monitoring services in various regions around the world.

The Hoffman Estates, Illinois division of Omron said it wants to expand digital health services to consumers and monitor risks of heart disease and other ailments. The company showed the tech at CES 2022, the tech trade show in Las Vegas.

Omron Healthcare is showing off a mobile app that coaches users to understand their data and act on it. The company has formed a partnership with Kyoto University to research how AI could prevent cardiac events.

The online service can be paired with Omron’s connected blood pressure monitors and the mobile app to support consumers wherever they are on a journey to heart health, the company said.

The range of remote patient monitoring services from Omron – dubbed VitalSight in the United States, Hypertension Plus in the U.K., and HeartVoice in Singapore – are designed to foster greater active health condition management, strengthen the patient-physician connection, and guide behavior change that reduces or eliminates heart attack and stroke risk.

Above: The Omron Connect app.

Image Credit: Omron Healthcare

“Omron began developing our remote patient monitoring services three years ago, before the
pandemic,” said Omron Healthcare CEO Ranndy Kellogg, in a statement. “These services flag urgent data for physicians and provide a lifeline for those facing the highest hypertension risks.”

VitalSight from Omron leverages the company’s remote blood pressure monitoring and personal heart health technology. The service is designed specifically for hypertension management and data sharing to improve treatment engagement and health outcomes.

According to the American Heart Association’s national blood pressure guidelines, 116 million U.S.
adults are in the hypertensive range, and the Centers for Disease Control reports that 37 million of them have uncontrolled Stage 2 hypertension, with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

For those at the higher end of the hypertension scale, that risk is even higher during the pandemic as the health care system is overwhelmed in some areas. Hypertension is an underlying health condition carrying greater risk of complications from COVID-19.

Doctors can give patients a kit, delivered to the home, that includes an Omron-connected blood pressure monitor and data hub that are preset to securely share measurements – digitally – with the patient’s physician and care team.

Above: The Omron Connect app.

Image Credit: Omron Healthcare

The VitalSight data hub does not require Wi-Fi or cellular connection, which factor into access to care gaps for many patients. It uses a secure connection to share patient data with a care team and provides info that the doctor can use to modify treatment.

“Physicians who immediately adopted VitalSight are already telling us they are gaining greater insights into their patients and noting measurable behavior change for better heart health,” said Jeffrey Ray, executive director of business and technology at Omron, in a statement.

VitalSight can be integrated with the physician’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system or through the VitalSight Dashboard for easy data analysis, which provides automatic notifications to alert the physician and when a patient has readings that require action to be taken.

Omron is partnering with hospital systems and independent physicians in the U.S., including Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and physicians working to bridge health gaps in underserved communities.

Omron Connect is available as a free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play stores, and Omron’s service will be available through a paid subscription.