Close to 100 million wearable remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices will ship over the next 5 years, according to ABI Research, boosted by growing interest and awareness about the benefits of supporting healthcare away from the hospital and into patients’ homes. A key part of the emerging opportunity is the ability to collect data from a variety of vendor devices and sharing it securely with a range of related parties including patients, healthcare providers, and payors. The last 6 months alone have seen consumer brand giants Apple, Google, and Samsung all set out plans to provide RPM services.
RPM offers the promise of greater care and flexibility for patients while bringing efficiency and cost savings to health service providers. However, adoption has been stymied by a range of factors including device availability, device and service regulation, inertia, and a high barrier to entry for new players in the space.
“Data has traditionally resided in silos belonging to specific applications delivered primarily by device vendors themselves. New cloud platforms capable of collecting data from a range of vendor devices and sharing it securely with a range of related parties including patients, healthcare providers, and payors will drive adoption and bring more connected devices to market,” says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research, in a release.
Consumers are playing a role in the adoption of RPM as well. Already aware of activity tracking with wearable wireless devices from players like FitBit and Jawbone, some patients are looking for the same functionality from medical devices. In the continuous glucose monitoring market, devices from Dexcom, Animas, Medtronic, and others use wearable wireless technology to provide customers with connected ways to manage their condition as well as track and share details of their experience with their healthcare providers. Wireless connectivity is increasingly embedded in pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, ECG monitors, and a host of emerging devices focused on specific health conditions and body parameters.
The latest ABI research report, “The Remote Patient Management Revolution: Wearable Devices and Open Management Platforms,” looks at the key devices, platforms, and market drivers and inhibitors in the RPM market as well as forecasts device adoption over the next 5 years. The report is part of ABI research’s mHealth Wearables, Platforms and Services Market Research.
