Barriers persist, but remote monitoring finds favor among health IT execs, consumers

Spotty access to reliable wireless network connections continues to suppress the use of remote patient monitoring devices, but healthcare consumers are generally comfortable with the concept and willing to comply should a doctor recommend remote.

That’s according to a new Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics white paper sponsored by wireless platform vendor Qualcomm Life. “A New Prescription for Chronic Disease—Remote Monitoring Devices” draws from a survey of 125 consumers, according to a HIMSS Analytics news release.

Asked to name barriers to greater receptivity of remote monitoring, respondents cited cost, concerns about privacy and security and apprehension over potential changes in caregiver relationships.

The report’s authors also solicited input from 10 healthcare IT executives. They were generally supportive of remote monitoring technology as a strategic investment, citing, for example, its capacity to “increase access to data across an entire patient population” that can lead to “more informed patient care and business decisions” and “better position an organization to become an accountable care organization (ACO).”

Other findings included:

• Approximately two-thirds of consumer respondents reported familiarity with the term “remote monitoring device.”
• Consumers reported a moderate comfort level with the use of mobile devices for healthcare purposes, such as researching medical conditions or emailing physicians.
• Awareness of remote monitoring devices most often comes from friends or family members who have used the technology; only 16 percent of respondents said they had heard about it from their health care provider.
• Only 22 percent of respondents reported having used a remote monitoring device in the past. Eight percent of consumer respondents are now using a remote monitoring device as part of a fitness program.
• More than half of the consumer respondents (59 percent) reported concerns about the privacy and security of patient data transmitted on a remote monitoring device.

The report defines remote monitoring devices as medical equipment “worn by a person that transmits data into a database.” It’s available as a free download after registration.