Digital Health: From Remote Monitoring to Remote Care

Abstract

The growth of digital health technology has led to innovative technological solutions that can help to improve patient care. However, the primary focus to date has been on the passive monitoring of patients, which poses difficulties in clinical integration and has not succeeded in optimizing care for chronic conditions. In this article, we highlight the move from a digital care model focused on the passive monitoring of medical conditions to one where holistic patient management is provided by dedicated external health care teams on a longitudinal basis. This underlines the shift from remote patient monitoring to remote patient care. This approach has thus far mostly been applied at small scales, limited to specific institutions and environments. Generalization to the wider population will likely require the use of centralized entities that can scale these approaches. It is crucial to note that the role of this technology will be to supplement, rather than supplant, in-person care by allowing physicians to focus on the most relevant clinical data collected on a longitudinal basis. This approach is particularly promising for individuals living in rural or underserved areas, where traditional models of care may face barriers in implementation.