The number of patients using remote health monitoring devices doubled in 2015 to 4.9 million due to “rising market acceptance” according to Katie Dvorak, writing for Fierce Health IT. This number does not include individuals who use these tools for tracking their own personal health but does include patients who are part of a health care program that uses medical devices.
Remote Health Monitoring Devices Use Doubled
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Berg Insights, which issued the report, predicts that the number of patients who will be remotely monitored will grow annually by 48.9% and reach more than 36 million by the end of the next five years.
According to a report from Spyglass Consulting Group, more than half of hospitals and health systems are already using remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices. That number is expected to grow to include 15.2 million people by 2020. The reasons for the growth are operational efficiencies, risk management and to control costs.
Dvorak noted that for RPM use to grow as predicted, the industry needs to be more accepting of change, incentive structures must be realigned and wireless broadband must be financially supported.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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