Healthcare systems across the world are facing unprecedented strain due to ageing populations, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, shortage of clinical manpower, and escalating costs. Traditional hospital-centric models of care are no longer sustainable as the sole method of delivering healthcare services. In this context, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) has emerged as a transformative healthcare delivery model that extends clinical care beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics into patients’ daily lives.
The World Health Organization has recognised remote patient monitoring as one of a small group of healthcare delivery models with the potential to substantially improve global health outcomes. RPM is increasingly being adopted by healthcare providers, payers, and governments as a critical pillar of digital health strategies.
This article explains what RPM is, how it works, its clinical and operational benefits, implementation framework, challenges, and its future trajectory.
Remote Patient Monitoring refers to the use of digital technologies to collect patients’ health data outside traditional clinical settings and transmit this information to healthcare professionals for assessment, diagnosis, and intervention.
RPM enables clinicians to continuously track vital parameters such as:
Unlike episodic care delivered during hospital visits, RPM facilitates longitudinal, real-time monitoring, enabling early detection of clinical deterioration and personalised care interventions.
According to the WHO, RPM is a core component of digital health ecosystems that support integrated, people-centred health services, particularly in the management of chronic diseases and post-acute care.
Traditional care delivery suffers from several structural limitations:
RPM addresses these gaps by enabling continuous, objective, and real-world data capture, shifting care from reactive to preventive.
RPM typically follows a structured five-stage workflow.
Patient Enrolment and Onboarding
Patients eligible for RPM are identified based on clinical criteria such as chronic disease burden, post-discharge risk, or high utilisation patterns. They are enrolled into an RPM programme and provided with appropriate medical-grade or consumer-grade monitoring devices.
Patients are educated on device usage, data transmission, and escalation protocols.
Data Collection via Connected Devices
RPM devices include:
These devices capture physiological and behavioural parameters in real time or at scheduled intervals.
Data Transmission and Integration
Collected data is transmitted through:
The information is integrated with electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical dashboards, ensuring interoperability with existing hospital information systems.
Clinical Analysis and Decision Support
RPM platforms utilise:
To identify abnormal patterns and early warning signals. Care teams are notified when pre-defined thresholds are breached or deterioration trends emerge.
This allows clinicians to intervene before conditions escalate into acute episodes.
Clinical Intervention and Feedback Loop
Based on the analysed data, clinicians can:
The patient receives feedback through mobile apps, SMS, or telehealth platforms, closing the care loop.
RPM has demonstrated strong utility across multiple therapeutic areas:
| Condition | RPM Application |
| Diabetes | Continuous glucose monitoring and insulin optimisation |
| Hypertension | Blood pressure trend monitoring and therapy adjustment |
| Heart failure | Weight and SpO₂ tracking to prevent decompensation |
| COPD and asthma | Respiratory metrics to detect exacerbations |
| Post-surgical care | Early detection of infections and complications |
| Geriatric care | Fall risk analysis and frailty monitoring |
The WHO identifies RPM as a vital tool in improving outcomes in chronic disease management, especially in low-resource settings where access to specialist care is limited.
Benefits of Remote Patient Monitoring
