The global patient monitoring market is currently valued at $31.4 billion, according to a report from Kalorama Information.
The market has benefited from the demand to move to a more wireless and streamlined operation both within major health facilities and in the home treatment markets, according to the report, which examined devices, peripherals, software, packaged services and other applications.
Advances in remote patient monitoring include: new peripherals; real-time audio and video for "face-to-face" interaction between clinicians and patients; wireless communication systems that "sort" the vast amount of data collected in order to put it into the context of a patient's condition; portable and ambulatory monitors; web-based access to the patient record; systems that transfer data to an electronic medical record (EMR); and full-service outsourcing that includes a clinician to evaluate data and send a report to the attending physician. The advanced patient monitoring market includes products in the following segments: blood management and function monitors, cardiac event and function monitors, neurological event monitors, respiratory function monitors, and other advanced monitors, according to the report.
"Cost savings are the major driver of sales, but the demand to integrate data into an EMR has also helped fuel purchases of new PM systems," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "There is also an increasing trend to upgrade to ambulatory and hand-held devices."
