The European remote patient monitoring market is growing but slowed by limited government reimbursement, reveals research from Frost & Sullivan.
The market earned revenue stood at USD 175.0 million in 2007 and is estimated to reach USD 400.0 million by 2014.
Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Janani Narasimhan said: “The heightened demands of an ageing population and a related increase in chronic diseases are encouraging market growth.
“Remote patient monitoring has the potential to change the way patients manage their own conditions so that they become the keepers of their own healthcare.”
Innovative and advanced technology continues to play a significant role in the remote patient monitoring market.
Technology is constantly changing to support better healthcare services, while steadily improving patient monitoring capabilities.
However, limited reimbursement is dampening market potential in Europe, the report shows.
The lack of adequate reimbursement streams will pose a major challenge to companies wishing to boost their unit sales and market revenues. Privacy and confidentiality issues are further clouding the market.
“A critical challenge is governments’ refusal to reimburse remote monitoring of patients,” explains Narasimhan.
“With no financial incentive for healthcare providers to implement this technology, providers are likely to view remote patient monitoring as an increase in workload without a subsequent hike in pay. On the other hand, connecting personal health information to the Internet exposes this data to more hostile attacks than paper-based medical records.”
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“Our region has 70 single user RPM systems in place principally with patients suffering from COPD and CHF. Results have been excellent, with improvements in quality of life, confidence, self management, community engagement, more appropriate use of the primary care system and reduced hospitalisations. Like Europe, we don’t have reimbursement models, so the public health system is providing the units at no cost. This is most likley not sustainable, but is a way to start.” – Phil Coppin, Victoria, Australia
