Association of Remote Patient Monitoring with Care Utilization in Patients with Chronic Cardiopulmonary Conditions

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has shown potential benefits for patients with chronic conditions. This study aimed to compare healthcare utilization between RPM and non-RPM patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). RPM patients were identified based on a history of CHF and COPD and receipt of RPM services. A 1:4 propensity score matching approach was used to identify comparable non-RPM patients with CHF or COPD, adjusting for demographics, comorbidity burden, and baseline healthcare use. The final analytic cohort comprised 1,050 patients. RPM patients were generally older adults with high Charlson Comorbidity Index scores. Compared to non-RPM patients, those receiving RPM had a significantly shorter hospital length of stay (2.4±5.4 vs. 4.7±11.3 days, p<0.01) and reduced frequency of hospitalizations (0.6±1.1 vs. 1.7±3.9, p<0.01) on an annual basis. Our results demonstrated the utility of RPM in the management of patients with chronic cardiopulmonary conditions.