More comprehensive care and cost reductions with remote patient monitoring

Latiffe Ghanem | June 4, 2021

The healthcare industry has been undergoing a deep and complete digital transformation, catapulted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The worldwide health emergency has a silver lining in terms of the innovative and technology-driven ways that emerged over the past 2 years to provide healthcare access to all. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is one of these breakthroughs, which offers constant care and affordable prices for customers and lower costs for businesses under a no-contact scheme. Its rapid growth goes hand in hand with technological advances and improved connectivity, but also effectiveness. 

RPM is a lot simpler than many may think. As Business Insider asserts, there is no need for video-audio functionalities. Remote patient monitoring depends exclusively on companies’ technological capability to electronically receive and analyze information. Monitoring chronic illnesses, heart disease, and diabetes are among the actual purposes given to this revolutionizing health technology. This telemedicine delivery system has yet to discover all its possible uses, especially since, on the one hand, it implies patients do not need to commute to an actual hospital, and on the other, the health industry cuts costs for in-patient care.

RPM is analogous to the emergence of mobile telephones. We will see it evolve into medical devices that are user-friendlier and easier to carry, but that have the power to store, send and interpret data at a speed never seen before. Forbes asserts that RPM will only work if it is patient-focused and comprehensive, in other words, the whole healthcare system needs to upgrade and innovate to be able to integrate Artificial Intelligence solutions, medical records, wearable technologies, among other new electronic medical equipment, into patients' daily healthcare needs. 

The world RPM market will reach $117.1 billion by 2025 and just in the US, it is estimated that 30 million patients will be using RPM tools by 2024. This should come as no surprise since RPM provides patients the peace of mind that they are being constantly monitored, especially for those individuals who are disabled or live alone. RPM is not only a profitable telehealth solution for the healthcare industry, but most importantly it represents a new type of relationship and interaction between hospitals and healthcare professionals with their patients in real time. 

To achieve this forward-looking comprehensive approach using RPM, businesses, patients and hospitals will need to work together to create integrated and affordable solutions. Furthermore, technology breakthroughs and increased connectivity will pave the way for remote patient monitoring, especially in remote and rural areas where access to health care has always been a challenge.