From Alerts to Action: Rethinking Cardiac Remote Monitoring

Cardiac remote monitoring generates an abundance of information. The challenge is turning that information into timely, clinically meaningful action without overwhelming clinicians or patients.

In a recent Becker’s Healthcare podcast, Rajesh Venkatraman, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist with Houston Methodist DeBakey Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery Associates, discussed how his practice approaches that challenge through centralized workflows, prioritized alerts and patient education.

One portal, a more manageable workflow

In the not so distant past, Dr. Venkatraman recalled when device monitoring meant logging into separate manufacturer websites, printing reports and manually routing them to physicians. Today, he said, bringing those transmissions into one portal makes a substantially leaner workflow possible.

His practice manages approximately 2,000–2,500 devices with one full-time device nurse and Dr. Venkatraman as its electrophysiologist, supported by RhythmScience.

“Centralizing all of these data into one portal, that itself is half the battle,” he said.

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The benefit extends beyond fewer logins: a consolidated workflow helps the team organize incoming information and direct attention to the findings that require review to ensure the patients who need care get it.

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Prioritize the alerts that need action

To reduce alert fatigue, the practice uses a tiered approach. Higher-priority “red” alerts move to the front of the portal, while lower-priority “yellow” alerts follow a separate review pathway.

Dr. Venkatraman emphasized that alert categories should reflect physician preferences and clinical priorities. In his practice, urgent findings can include significant changes in device lead measurements.

He credited the combination of alert prioritization and trained human interpretation with reducing review burden and helping him assess reports more efficiently.

Bring clinical context into the review

A device alert becomes more useful when clinicians can see the patient context needed to interpret it.

For atrial fibrillation alerts, Dr. Venkatraman highlighted the importance of knowing whether a patient has documented anticoagulation therapy or a left atrial appendage occlusion device. His current workflow includes recording that information at enrollment automatically. This alleviates manual burden on the care team to provide meaningful context.

He also described the potential for deeper Epic integration to surface medication information alongside device findings, reducing the need to move between systems and manually search the chart.

Make patient education part of the program

Patients need to understand both the value and the limits of remote monitoring. Dr. Venkatraman emphasized that his team explains upfront that the service is not live monitoring and confirms enrollment and transmission status during follow-up visits.

Patients like knowing they are being monitored and he sees approximately 97%–98% compliance rates among patients enrolled in his practice’s monitoring program.

Make staying connected easier for providers and patients

The emphasis on manageable workflows and patient education also points to the importance of accessibility: making information easier to review and act on.

RhythmScience extends that approach through the Rhythm360 app, where providers can view patient data, document care and electronically sign. Bringing these tasks into an app helps clinicians stay on top of monitoring responsibilities without adding unnecessary steps to their day.

Patients also have an app where they can view the data their provider chooses to share. This complements patient education by giving patients access to selected information about their care, while keeping that visibility aligned with their provider’s guidance.

Build around actionable information

Dr. Venkatraman’s central recommendation was to partner with a cloud-based remote monitoring provider rather than manage the growing data burden alone. Further, going the extra mile to ensure all the data is integrated into the EHR.

The takeaway: effective remote monitoring is not simply about collecting more data. It is about organizing that data, adding relevant clinical context and helping care teams act on what matters.