Frost: Wireless Patient Monitoring Reduces Hospital Operating Costs

March 21, 2006

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Cost reduction pressures and the need for shortened in-patient stays are promoting the use of wireless patient monitoring systems in hospitals. Their contribution to better process management, superior flexibility and increased efficiency within hospitals is further underlining the appeal of wireless networking options for patient monitoring systems, according to Frost & Sullivan.

The daily cost of using a critical care bed is nearly $1,500-$2,000. Oftentimes patients are put in these beds for constant monitoring, regardless of their critical care needs. The freeing of these beds, through the use of wireless patient monitoring, can facilitate better management of the in-patient population and support enhanced flexibility within the hospital environment through remote monitoring abilities.

"Most European hospitals have telemetry units where patients can be monitored for vital parameters through patient-worn transmitters that are connected to the central station," said Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Aarati Ajay. "These enable better surveillance of the patients, improve ambulating conditions for them and help in reducing the length of the hospital stay."

Attracted by the many clinical and economic benefits of this technology, including its ability to relieve health authorities of huge cost pressures, analysts said Germany, France and the U.K. have emerged as early adopters of wireless networking in hospitals. As awareness about the benefits of wireless monitoring grows, analysts said uptake levels across other European countries are poised to increase significantly. The creation of customized solutions for individual hospital requirements will also boost implementation levels in the near- to mid-term.

Regardless, analysts said budgetary considerations are a major obstacle to the large-scale deployment of wireless patient monitoring networks. "The deployment of wireless systems involves several technical considerations that might prove expensive for hospitals in the short term," said Ajay. "This, together with the lack of fluid budgets for hospitals, is hindering the widespread acceptance of this technology."

Despite the known advantages of having a single patient monitoring network integrating the entire hospital, severe financial limitations need to be overcome in order to deploy such systems. For most hospitals, integrating a wireless network will be an important consideration over the next four to five years. Analysts said this will challenge vendors to identify hospitals that have an urgent need, as well as those that have the spending power.

Within five years, the number of hospitals with a wireless network infrastructure should increase tremendously, experts predicted, generating growth opportunities for vendors. The European market for wireless patient monitoring had revenues of $81.0M in 2004 and will accumulate $178.0M in 2011. Augmented uptake of telemetry systems in markets such as Spain and Benelux, in addition to growth in the bigger countries such as Germany, France and the U.K. will sustain this growth.

Analysts said wireless patient monitors have attained only 10% of their market potential. A targeted approach directed at penetrating hospitals in technologically advanced countries such as Italy, France and Germany will reinforce market expansion.

Growth opportunities abound for both wireless ambulatory telemetry and wireless portable patient monitoring segments, according to Frost & Sullivan. Telemetry systems contribute to more than 85% of today's total market revenues. By 2011, analysts predict the fast-growing wireless portable patient monitors - projected to attain a compound annual growth rate of 19% between 2004 and 2011 - will likely boost that contribution to nearly 22%.

"To increase penetration in the overall market, vendors could alter their product offerings by catering to specific requirements of clients and making them cost-effective," said Ajay. "Another avenue would be to create technologies that could be integrated into existing IT systems of hospitals so that the cost incurred is not as high as setting up an entirely new network."

Source: Frost & Sullivan.