Remote patient monitoring market expected to hit $117B

The remote patient monitoring market is surging but the explosive growth is just beginning, according to an analyst’s projection.

The global market is expected to reach $117 billion by 2025, up from $23 billion in 2020, according to a report released Monday by MarketsandMarkets. If the forecast is accurate, that would represent a five-fold increase in the remote patient monitoring market by 2025.

Hospitals and healthcare systems have been using remote patient monitoring systems and devices increasingly to treat patients in recent years. Hospitals have used such systems to track patients with conditions such as diabetes or hypertension.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated remote patient monitoring.

The Mayo Clinic used remote devices to monitor COVID-19 patients’ vital signs through blood pressure cuffs or pulse oximeters while they recovered at home. Early in the pandemic, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia used a text messaging system to check in with COVID-19 patients at home, and a study found the system saved lives and spurred people to get treatment sooner if their condition worsened.

In New York City, Essen Health Care has recently begun using remote patient monitoring to track some patients at home. The system said the early results have been promising and have helped identify patients who needed more treatment. Essen said remote patient management is especially valuable in helping to treat older patients with chronic conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to drive the expansion of remote patient management, MarketsandMarkets predicted. An aging population will also spur more healthcare providers to offer programs and services to help monitor patients in their homes.

The report also cited the need to expand healthcare access. With the growing focus on health equity, healthcare organizations face increasing pressure to reach underserved communities in urban and rural areas.

In addition, hospitals may be more apt to expand remote patient management services in dealing with patients with infectious diseases, MarketsandMarkets said. Patients with infectious diseases could be treated at home, thus reducing the chances of spreading the disease to other patients in hospitals.

In North America alone, the remote patient monitoring market is expected to surpass $72 billion by 2025. But MarketsandMarkets also projected rapid growth in the Asia Pacific market.

The firm noted some factors that could slow down the growth of remote patient management. Some doctors and patients are wary of new technology and may be leery of moving to remote systems and prefer to see doctors in person.

Telehealth usage has soared over the course of the pandemic. The federal government reported a 63-fold increase in telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries last year. There were 52.7 million telehealth visits by Medicare beneficiaries in 2020, compared to 840,000 in 2019.

The government waived restrictions on telehealth during the pandemic. Healthcare advocacy groups are pressing Congress to make those waivers permanent to ensure access to telehealth services.