The role of remote monitoring in patients’ perceptions of telehealth

Lansing, Mich. (March 19, 2025) - On Friday, February 28, I gave an oral presentation, titled “Vital Signs of Satisfaction: The Role of Remote Monitoring in Patients’ Perceptions of Telehealth,” to the annual meeting of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters. The project analyzed how patients’ exposure to remote patient monitoring (RPM) technologies such as remote blood pressure monitoring, home glucose readers, or other internet-connected monitoring devices can influence perceptions about their telehealth care.

These technologies rely on an internet connection to send health information, and those connections should ideally have lower latency to avoid a transmission delay. Without it, some services (like ECG monitoring) may not reach the provider quickly enough to prevent serious health issues and complications.

Like other forms of telehealth, RPM offers patients several advantages (especially in rural areas), including convenience and saving money and time on travel to appointments (and on child care for parents). However, RPM offers some additional benefits that other forms of telehealth do not.

Because RPM technologies constantly monitor patients, providers can catch early warning signs of problems before they escalate into health crises. By identifying these issues early, patients can avoid costly emergency care. Finally, these technologies permit older and disabled patients to stay in their homes longer and avoid moving to nursing facilities.

Data for this endeavor came from a partnership between Connected Nation (CN) and the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development (CUPPAD) Regional Commission. In its 2021-25 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, CUPPAD proposed enabling broadband and expanding telehealth services to achieve healthier communities.

In partnering with CN, the commission sought to study gaps in telehealth access and identify ways to increase telehealth usage in the region. This effort produced a computer-assisted telephone survey (n = 1,800) of the six-county region (encompassing Alger, Delta, Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee, and Schoolcraft counties) that asked respondents about broadband and telehealth. Of those, 1,513 respondents had utilized telehealth, and they represent the study’s sample.

The dependent variables for this study — perceptions about telehealth care — come from a survey question asking respondents, “Would you strongly agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or strongly disagree with these statements about the online health applications that you used?” Respondents were then prompted with the following options to rate:

• Using the application saved me time
• Using the application saved me moneyUsing the application was more convenient than an in-person visit would have been
• Using the application resulted in service that was as good as I would have received during an in-person visit
• The practitioner seemed proficient and comfortable using the application

The independent variable for this study — exposure to RPM technologies — comes from a survey question asking respondents if they (or someone else in their household) had used several RPM services, including remote heart rate monitoring, remote blood pressure monitoring, remote blood sugar monitoring, and gait, seizure, or falls monitoring. If the respondent answered “yes” to any of these services, they were coded as being exposed to RPM (a dichotomously measured variable).

Our models reveal that RPM exposure significantly increases the likelihood of respondents answering “mostly agree” or “strongly agree” to three of the prompts above — that telehealth saved them money, that using the application was more convenient than an in-person visit would have been, and that using the application resulted in service that was as good as they would have received during an in-person visit.

Multivariate models also suggest that several demographic variables affect respondents’ perceptions about telehealth care — individuals age 65 or older were less likely to agree with those same three statements, while households with children were more likely to agree with all five of the statements above (Table 1). 

Table 1: Significant Relationships in Multivariate Models

These findings suggest that patients exposed to RPM technologies evaluate their telehealth care more positively than patients without such exposure. Moreover, if communities want to encourage their residents’ telehealth uptake, expanding RPM offerings at local medical facilities could attract some patients familiar with these technologies and illustrate the increased benefits to patients who utilize them.

To read the full report stemming from CN’s collaboration with CUPPAD, click here. Everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.

About the Author: David Nunally is a Connected Nation Research Analyst. He is responsible for using qualitative and quantitative techniques to interpret survey data, in addition to collecting data from secondary sources to help support those findings. David works with internal and external stakeholders to help develop research and provide critical information in support of the Connected Nation mission.