Researchers say it could be an answer to declining hospital capacity
of ConsumerAffairsApril 18, 2025
Key Takeaways:
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Hospitalizations cut by 59% for high-risk patients using University of Michigans home monitoring program.
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$12 million return on investment achieved through reduced readmissions, making the program cost-effective.
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Largest and longest study to date confirms benefits of remote patient monitoring for various chronic conditions beyond COVID-19.
The number of staffed hospital beds has decreased from approximately 802,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic to around 674,000 post-pandemica 16% decline, according to the Healthcare Leadership Portal. But a new study from the University of Michigan reveals that remote patient monitoring (RPM) can drastically reduce hospital readmissions for high-risk individualscutting hospitalization rates by more than half in the six months following program enrollment.
The findings, published in Telemedicine and E-Health, suggest transformative potential for healthcare systems strained by overcrowding and rising costs.
The study examined the Patient Monitoring at Home (PMH) program, launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Patients with heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, severe COVID-19, and other high-risk conditions were sent home with a kit containing a tablet, thermometer, blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and scale. This technology enabled them to regularly transmit vital signs and symptom updates to clinicians at U-M Health, which monitored the data in real time and intervened as needed.
“These are promising results for hospitalization prevention,” Dr. Sara Margosian, lead author and a geriatric medicine faculty member at U-M Health, said in a press release. “This program targets the people at highest risk for rehospitalization, and the ability to have an intervention that works is really exciting.”
Scalable model
The study tracked outcomes from over 1,700 patients, making it the largest and most extensive evaluation of an RPM initiative to date. Among its striking results:
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A 59% overall reduction in hospitalizations after enrollment.
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A 49% reduction even when excluding COVID-19 patients.
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A $12 million net savings through avoided hospitalizationsmaking the initiative not only clinically effective but financially sustainable.
Patients used the monitoring kits for one to two months on average, yet the benefits endured well beyond the monitoring period, the researchers found.
U-M partnered with Health Recovery Solutions to develop an accessible system that doesnt require home internet. The tablet connects to each monitoring device via Bluetooth and transmits data via a secure cellular signal. Patients are prompted to take daily readings and complete disease-specific surveys, which are reviewed by a clinical team that includes nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians.
As the program matured, adherence improved markedlyby the third year, patients were logging vital signs 75% of the time and completing surveys 71% of the time.
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