Close to 100 million wearable remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices will ship over the next 5 years, according to ABI Research. Growing interest and awareness about the benefits of supporting healthcare away from the hospital and into patients’ homes are helping drive this market.

A key part of the emerging opportunity is the ability to collect data from a variety of devices and sharing it securely with a range of related parties including patients, healthcare providers, and payers. The last six 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 flexibility for patients while bringing efficiency and cost savings to health service providers.

A key part of the emerging opportunity is the ability to collect data from a variety of devices and sharing it securely with other parties.“Data has traditionally resided in silos belonging to specific applications delivered primarily by device vendors themselves,” said Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research. “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 payers will drive adoption and bring more connected devices to market.”

Consumers are playing a role in the adoption of RPM as well, with fitness trackers from companies like FitBit and Jawbone steadily growing in popularity. In the continuous glucose monitoring market, devices from Dexcom, Animas, Medtronic, and others use wearable 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.

[Image from Medtronic]