From the March 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Vendors hope to work on developing MBAN solutions soon, a goal that hinges on the FCC’s preservation of the negotiated proposal between the health care and aircraft industries. “It could destabilize the agreements, so we’re encouraging the regulators to look at it carefully, consider it carefully and hopefully buy into the core essence of what we’re trying to do,” says Smith.

Living up to the promise?
Additional studies evaluating their effectiveness are sure to give RPM technologies a boost. Market research projects a continued growth in the segment, and some consider this trend to be inevitable. “It has to grow. I don’t think that we really have a choice,” says Care Innovations’ Cherry. “We have to shift care from that high-cost inpatient model to the lower-cost outpatient model and keep people comfortable, safe and well in their homes.”

Customizable MBAN sensors that can easily track patients’ vitals and needs may be a thing of the future, but present-day remote monitoring systems are already a part of many patients’ lives.

Charles Polk, a retired truck driver from Detroit, Mich., has been using Philips’ telehealth products since last fall. “What I like about it is that I don’t have to go in for my blood pressure and my weight — I can do it right here in the house. It’s convenient,” he says.

Polk’s physician is located about nine miles from his house and can monitor his condition remotely, thanks to the technology. But the system also empowers Polk to have more control over his own health. “I’m doing pretty good for a 78-year-old man,” he says.


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