Remote patient monitoring, a type of telehealth, is finally starting to become a factor in U.S. healthcare. The reasons, as usual, have to do with money. Medicare now penalizes hospitals financially if too many of their patients wind up back in the hospital within 30 days, so some organizations are monitoring high-risk patients at home to head off complications. And the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and value-based reimbursement gives providers a fresh incentive to monitor patients with serious chronic conditions between visits. Don't let all those people wearing Fitbits and Nike FuelBands mislead you, though. Remote monitoring in the clinical world remains far from a mass-market trend.
