Enthusiasm for remote patient monitoring is growing, and it’s no wonder. The latest wave in health data collection uses non-invasive devices (think smart watches, smart phones, and other wearables) to automatically transmit data to a web portal or mobile app for patient self-monitoring and/or health provider assessment and clinical decision-making. In this way, more data can be collected more conveniently than with traditional methods. Could the use of these exciting technologies actually translate into improved patient health?

A recent meta-analysis study sought to answer that very question. Many of the randomized control trials included in the meta-analysis controlled for the delivery model upon which remote patient monitoring (RPM) was used. In other words, everything was held as constant as possible between experimental and control groups, aside from the use of RPM.

Despite the hype, the study generated mixed results in terms of the effectiveness of RPM on its own. It turns out that patients are unlikely to attain significant improvements in health with the mere incremental addition of RPM to the care delivery model. Something more is needed.

Read the full article about remote patient monitoring by Ryan Marling at Christensen Institute.