Remote Monitoring Devices May Become More Accepted After COVID-19

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in earnest in early 2020, physicians have pushed to limit in-person appointments to minimize the risk of disease transmission. Patients have instead turned to using telehealth platforms and apps to continue receiving care from home. According to GlobalData, a worldwide data and analytics company, this experience may have improved patients’ views on the use of remote patient monitoring devices with wearable sensors that upload real-time health metrics to a physician.
 
GlobalData’s poll found that 66 percent of the respondents said they were more willing to use a remote monitoring device, compared to before the pandemic. Additionally, only 6 percent of respondents were less willing to use them due to efficacy concerns, indicating that a vast majority of patients were satisfied with the capabilities of remote monitoring solutions. 
 
Dominic Tong, a senior medical devices analyst at GlobalData, commented: “The pandemic was likely the first time receiving care via video call or app for many patients. The responses indicate that this experience was a positive one for most. Telehealth platforms allowed patients to conveniently receive care from the comfort of their own home, limiting the need for in-person visits. Remote monitoring devices would allow more thorough physician interactions and decisions while still offering the convenience of at-home care.” 
 
Remote monitoring devices would be able to collect health data that would usually require an in-person visit to collect and send it in real-time to a physician. Physicians could then use this data to make more accurate treatment decisions. Current health monitoring devices include wearables such as the Apple Watch, which already have a number of health sensors built-in and have significant adoption. 
 
“Increased integration of remote monitoring devices in our healthcare models allow more accurate decision-making, while potentially increasing patient willingness for regular check-ups and even patient throughput,” Tong said. “With the latest generation of wearables already including many health sensors and the pandemic increasing patients’ willingness to utilize remote monitoring devices, physicians may not need to wait for long before incorporating them into their practices.”