Chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, COPD, and hypertension require ongoing management, but providers typically only see patients for brief appointments every few weeks or months. Between visits, changes in a patient’s condition can go undetected until they escalate into emergency room visits or hospitalizations.

Remote patient monitoring closes this gap by giving providers continuous visibility into their patients’ health between visits. Patients measure vitals such as blood pressure, blood oxygen, and blood glucose at home on a daily basis, and the data is shared automatically with their care team. When the data indicates a concerning change, the provider can intervene early — adjusting medications, scheduling a telemedicine visit, or escalating care — before the situation becomes an emergency.

Research from Mayo Clinic found that patients with chronic conditions monitored with RPM after hospital discharge had significantly lower 30-day readmission rates compared to unmonitored patients. For providers managing large panels of chronically ill patients, RPM shifts the model from reactive to proactive care.