Remote patient monitoring market set to benefit from Covid-19 pandemic

With the global Covid-19 pandemic forcing many people to remain at home, the current emphasis on patient-centred care is becoming more dependent on virtual medical treatments. Many individuals, particularly the elderly who have chronic diseases, require frequent check-ups and need to be continually properly monitored. It is time-consuming for them to drive back and forth to visit physicians, and alternatives such as in-house care are unreasonably expensive for the majority of patients. There is also an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19, which can be fatal for the elderly. These factors have led to the increased adoption of remote patient monitoring.

With the increased usage of remote patient monitoring during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has also been a surge in the number of companies choosing to enter into mergers and acquisitions. Philips has recently agreed to acquire BioTelemetry, a medical technology company that specialises in cardiac diagnostics and remote patient monitoring services. This deal will allow Philips to expand its remote patient monitoring business beyond hospitals and into patients’ homes. Philips already has a strong position in remote patient monitoring in hospitals, and once its acquisition of BioTelemetry is completed in Q1 2021, it has the potential to dominate the market for the foreseeable future.

GlobalData forecasts the global market value for remote patient monitoring to grow by a total of 18% in the next five years to surpass $645M by 2025. Remote patient monitoring can potentially help solve many of the problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the growing elderly population. In the long term, increased use will lead to improved management of patient health conditions, and hospitals will have more capacity due to fewer patients being present for monitoring, saving all parties valuable time and money.