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Staying Healthy
What's the future of remote patient monitoring?
- By Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter
Ask the doctor
Q.
I use a home blood pressure machine, and my doctor says it helps her take better care of me. Are there other home machines, measuring other aspects of my health, that also could help her, and me?
A. There’s a growing number of devices that monitor your body throughout the day, and many more are coming in the future. Nearly 50 million people in the United States currently use such "remote patient monitoring" devices. Home blood pressure machines were among the first. Most of them require that you put a cuff around your arm; then, you tap a button, the cuff starts to tighten, and after 30 seconds or so, the cuff relaxes and the machine shows your blood pressure on a little screen. That’s neat, but the machine only measures your blood pressure when you remember to do so. And it typically doesn’t send the results automatically to your doctor. Also, it’s not with you all the time, like when someone says or does something that would raise anyone’s blood pressure.
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About the Author
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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