Technology Transforming Maternity Care

In recent times, technology has successfully been leveraged to build solutions to solve healthcare disparities sustainably. It is a very exciting time to observe and enable the transition of health-tech, from a latent initial adoption phase to a phase where its potential is fully recognized.

One such domain, where such a shift is already preempted, is maternity care! Home care and Remote Monitoring Healthcare strategies are being considered as sustainable

ways to synergize with the traditional healthcare system. This shift started with a greater awareness of the limited utility of the unstructured patient data that currently exists in the healthcare system and is accelerated by the need for remote care that was felt during the pandemic.

What are we trying to solve?

Source: OB Nest: Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Pregnant women, especially new mothers, face a multitude of problems during their pregnancy. While the changes in their bodies are new and they rely on their families and healthcare team to cope with it, they also have a lot of questions beyond the visible changes in their body: about nutrition, labor, safety, and health of their baby and a lot more. The current fragmented healthcare system does not make it easy for them to figure it all out on their own and feel reassured about their condition.

Along with this, long waiting times and the risk of contracting infections make it even more difficult to be comfortable with frequent consultations and tests.

These are some key issues that MedTel’s Pregnancy Monitoring Devices aims to solve!

How do we do it?

1. BP monitor: Around 6% of the women in India suffer from PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension) and about 15% of the pregnancies have a high risk of preeclampsia. Regular monitoring of BP would help doctors and patients understand trends in the parameters and minimize or even prevent complications arising due to an abnormal BP value!

2. Body analyzer: Weight is a key indicator of the mother’s health and the child’s growth. Regular monitoring of weight is essential even in normal.

3. Glucometer: 11% of pregnant women develop GDM (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) during their pregnancy. A significant number of these cases can be prevented if their onset is detected on time.

4. Hemoglobinometer: With more than 50% of expectant mothers suffering from anemia, this becomes an important test to counter and prevent complications such as reduced growth of the baby (intrauterine growth retardation and low birth weight).

5. FHR monitor: Fetal Heart Rate and Kicks are indicators of the baby’s well-being Now this can be measured at home and this data is shared with doctors in real-time!

Data that these devices capture, is updated directly to the patient’s healthcare records that are visible to the healthcare provider. Doctors are equipped with a dashboard where all the patient readings are displayed and personalized targets can be set. Based on the readings, the patients and doctors get real-time updates about the progress of the pregnancy, which helps mothers feel reassured or take timely action (if needed).

Misinformation is another big problem that expectant mothers face. Most resort to the internet as their source of truth for any questions that they have. Information here may or may not be credible here, this leads to a lot of confusion and is a huge cause of anxiety for a lot of women. MedTel’s RPM is helping control this misinformation by providing credible and reliable information about the most important and common questions that mothers have.

We are fixing the fragmented healthcare system by getting consultations, ordering medicines, booking lab tests, reliable information, and testing on the same platform.

Way Forward!

We have observed that there is a growing interest at the patient end, to find and use such health-tech interventions and manage their pregnancy, and even stick to it post-pregnancy to monitor their and their child’s health. This not only helps them monitor themselves at home and get a feeling of having more control over their pregnancy, but it also gives them much-needed reassurance.

As digital healthcare and innovation mature, the next key aspect we would be working on is building credibility and trust amongst the key stakeholders so that such an intervention can scale sustainably!

Contact Us!

MedTel’s RPM platform incorporates connected diagnostic devices, a smartphone app, and a web-based dashboard for hospital access and review. These devices include a digital blood pressure machine, body composition monitor, glucometer, fetal heart rate monitor, and hemoglobinometer. Our advanced Connected Care Solutions provide remote pregnancy care which reduces physical clinic visits while monitoring health parameters for complications.