Remote monitoring (RPM) refers to the remote monitoring and clinical management of a patient’s vital signs using home devices. Monitoring solutions are tailored to individual patients and enable them to better manage their health. The vital signs data is transmitted to a central server where the information can be viewed by the clinician or the patient. This allows caregivers to monitor the patient’s condition and take appropriate steps to address the health condition (iData Research Inc., 2024).
RPM solutions include peripheral devices for vital signs monitoring and data collection, systems for transmitting data to a server, and software for displaying data. Some common peripheral devices include blood pressure cuffs, scales, blood glucose monitors, and pulse oximeters, where the devices included with each solution vary depending on the patients condition. Data from these devices can be transmitted via telephone line, broadband, GSM and Bluetooth. This data is displayed using software systems that can be viewed by the patient, caregiver, clinician or physician who can use this information to better manage the individual’s health.
The European RPM market can be further segmented into disease treatment and cardiac implantable electronic devices. Disease management includes the sale and rental of primary cycle home health equipment and clinical disease management equipment. Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) refer to modern pacemakers, implantable loop recorders, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac resynchronization therapy devices (CRT-Ds), and hemodynamic monitors. Remote monitoring of these devices can help reduce the need for office visits by ensuring that the device is functioning properly and that the patient’s health status is adequate (iData Research Inc., 2024).
RPM increases significantly
The remote patient monitoring market is growing at a rapid pace and is growing faster than other markets for patient monitoring. The main drivers of growth are the increase in health conditions, the high proportion of elderly people in the European population, technological advances, customizable healthcare and the decrease in the availability of healthcare professionals (Boikanyo, Zungeru, Sigweni, Yahya, & Lebekwe, 2023).
Increase in medical conditions
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, hypertension or high blood pressure, chronic heart failure, and tachycardia are all conditions supported by RPM devices. Some conditions are becoming more prevalent, such as COPD (Blanco, Diego, Bueno, Casas-Maldonado, & Miravitlles, 2019), and as a byproduct, the RPM market is experiencing growth.
High proportion of elderly people
The population over 65 is growing rapidly due to the aging baby boomer population (Eurostat, 2024). This demographic shift will impact the entire patient monitoring market as more people than ever before begin using the healthcare system. In particular, increasing interest in patient monitoring and home care solutions along with increased procedure volume is driving the growth of the market to meet the increased demand within the healthcare system.
Technological developments
As technologies become more efficient, effective and secure, the market for remote monitoring devices will continue to grow and adoption will increase. Developments and increased availability of wireless data transmission networks are driving the development of RPM platforms. Market growth will be quite strong in countries where the wireless infrastructure required for RPM is already in place (iData Research Inc., 2024).
Cost savings for healthcare providers
As our average life expectancy increases, so does the need for individualized healthcare. People want the best possible care so they can live longer. Remote monitoring can be customized, as doctors and patients can choose which parameters are important to measure based on the individual’s state of health, geographic location and lifestyle. The demand for personalized healthcare is contributing to the growth of the market (iData Research Inc., 2024).
Decreased availability of healthcare professionals
Across Europe, there are fewer healthcare professionals available to provide care services to the growing number of chronically ill patients. This is particularly disadvantageous for the rural population, who, due to modern migration trends, which greatly favor metropolitan areas, are already receiving limited care. In addition, accelerated population growth is expected to put more pressure on healthcare providers as they struggle to cope with rising admission rates and declining bed availability. As a result, there will be a greater need for accessible and timely treatment programs across the continuum of care, which telehealth monitoring can help meet. Healthcare policies for patients living in rural areas have already been implemented in the last few years and provide access to telemedicine for such persons, thereby stimulating the growth of the market (iData Research Inc., 2024).
Disease management Growing faster than cardiac devices
While all segments within the RPM market are growing, most of the growth is driven by the disease management segment. This growth is driven by the cost avoidance and containment models of healthcare agencies and the increased provision and use of home and remote telehealth services across Europe. In recent years, there has been a shift towards the leasing model, which now holds more than 80% of the market. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic dramatically furthered this trend as hospitals decided to forgo major capital assets and instead chose the leasing option (iData Research Inc., 2024).
Conclusion
Even though many patient monitoring markets have matured, the telemonitoring market will continue to grow. While population aging and the rise of medical conditions can be growth factors for nearly all patient monitoring markets, the flexibility of healthcare options provided by remote monitoring devices is largely unmatched. Additionally, as remote technology continues to evolve, so will the remote patient monitoring market.
The disease management market is the biggest reason why the RPM market is growing at such a fast rate. Not only will the larger market size for disease management amplify this effect, but the shift toward cost-avoiding isolation models will grow at a faster rate than implantable electronic devices.
See the report for more information Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Size, Share and Trend Analysis – Europe – 2024-2030 – MedSuite by iData Research.
About the Authors
Graham Diet head of the research analyst team at iData Research. Develops and produces syndicated research projects related to the medical device industry, publishes the EU Patient Monitoring Equipment report series.
Kamran Zamanian, Ph.D., CEO and founding partner of iData Research. He has spent more than 20 years in the market research industry studying medical devices used for patient health around the world.
About iData Research
For 19 years, iData Research has been a strong advocate for data-driven decision-making in the global medical device, dental and pharmaceutical industries. With unique research and consulting solutions, iData enables its clients to trust the data source and make important strategic decisions with confidence.
References
Blanco, I., Diego, I., Bueno, P., Casas-Maldonado, F. and Miravitlles, M. (2019). Geographic distribution of COPD prevalence in the world on geographic information system maps. European Respiratory Journal.
Boikanyo, K., Zungeru, AM, Sigweni, B., Yahya, A. and Lebekwe, C. (2023). Remote patient monitoring systems: applications, architecture and challenges. Science Direct.
Eurostat. (2024). Population structure and aging. Explanation of Eurostat statistics.
iData Research Inc. (2024). EU market report package for patient monitoring equipment – 2024. Vancouver.