Mobile monitoring could save the NHS billions, claims report

Healthcare industry could cut £3.89bn from budget by 2014

Using mobile technology to monitor patients could drastically cut costs for healthcare organisations

Public and private healthcare providers could save up to £3.9bn in healthcare costs by 2014 if they use remote patient monitoring systems, according to Juniper Research’s Mobile Health Opportunities Report.

Remote patient montoring sees technology deployed to a patient's home to monitor their health and prevent or manage chronic diseases. The system uses technology to monitor blood pressure, glucose and weight, for example. Readings are sent to a wireless data repository. Alerts can be generated and sent to the patients and clinicians as appropriate.

Mobile monitoring will save healthcare systems vast amounts of money in developed countries. However, the report argues that the high cost of the system means its deployment in developing regions is questionable.

In the past 18 months there has been a renewed interest in “m-Health” from operators globally, said Juniper Research.

The firm predicts that the market for health and fitness mobile applications will also thrive, eventually spawning a new market for advanced apps with integrated sensors worn on the body.

The company advised that establishing the correct route to market for those selling m-Health services will be key to their success.

The report also reveals that the US and Canadian markets will generate the most cost savings, owing to the inherent structure of their health systems, high healthcare costs, and more advanced remote monitoring rollouts.

Anthony Cox, senior analyst at Juniper Research and author of the report, explained that the cost of a hospital bed, which is used as a proxy for cost, is much higher in the North American region, partly due to the role of health insurance in the US healthcare sector.

“This has a direct impact on how much cost remote monitoring can save,” he said.