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Smartwatch? With all the different health data these devices and other wearable biosensors can track, maybe we should start calling it geniuswatch.
Experts predict that this remote patient-monitoring technology will soon become commonplace in US hospitals—helping alleviate the ongoing nurse shortage and reduce expenses.
“Within three years, I would say at least 80% of hospitals will be using this kind of technology-enabled monitoring for its patients,” said James Mault, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense, a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company.
A 2022 Deloitte Insights report predicts that nearly 440 million wearable biosensors, both consumer and medical-grade, will ship worldwide in 2024, up from 275 million in 2021. Analysts attribute the uptick to more devices hitting the market and healthcare providers becoming less skeptical of them. Consumer biosensors might look like an Apple Watch, while medical-grade biosensors are more like “smart patches” that stick directly to skin for continuous data monitoring.
BioIntelliSense makes a smart patch called BioButton, which can track resting heart rate, sleep patterns and skin temperature, and identify patients stable enough for early hospital discharge, Mault told Healthcare Brew. The BioButton and similar products can be used both in general care wards, as well as monitoring patients at home, according to Mault.
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the use of remote patient monitoring technology and wearable biosensors, according to a McKinsey report. Patients used smartwatches to track their Covid symptoms, and health facilities like the Mayo Clinic used remote monitoring devices for ambulatory management of its patients.
Even the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recognized the potential for remote patient monitoring. From 2018–2022, CMS has increasingly added more codes to reimburse these devices under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). Hospitals are reimbursed about $180 per patient for the BioButton, according to Mault.
Once hospitals integrate more wearable biosensors and remote monitoring devices into their care, “there’s no way you’re gonna go back,” Mault said.
“It’s like going back to travel agents and depositing your check at the bank,” he said. “Nobody does that.”