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This article explores how remote patient monitoring (RPM) is transforming patient safety by enabling continuous, real-time tracking of health data outside clinical settings. It provides a comprehensive overview of RPM technologies, their clinical benefits, implementation challenges and best practices. It highlights the growing importance of RPM in proactive care models and its role in reducing hospital readmissions, improving medication adherence and supporting vulnerable patient populations. How is remote patient monitoring changing patient safety? A Mass General Brigham study of 10,803 participants found that RPM reduced mean blood pressure from 150/83 to 145/83, which significantly lowers cardiovascular disease risk.[1] RPM technologies provide clinicians with real-time data streams; this allows for quick interventions when patient conditions change. The continuous monitoring bridges dangerous gaps between appointments where medical complications developed undetected. Beyond crisis prevention, RPM enhances medication safety through adherence tracking and creates comprehensive longitudinal health records revealing subtle trends conventional episodic care might miss. The benefits reach vulnerable groups—elderly, rural and mobility-limited patients—who now get regular supervision free of transportation constraints, creating safety nets once inaccessible under conventional care models. Real-time monitoring: a lifeline for early intervention and patient safety RPM provides regular data collection that serves as a buffer against avoidable harm by detecting minute physiological changes that indicate clinical deterioration. RPM significantly bolsters patient safety by enabling early detection of health deteriorations, thereby facilitating timely interventions. A study published in NPJ Digital Medicine analysed 29 studies across 16 countries and found that RPM interventions led to a reduction in hospital readmissions and emergency department visits.[2] Specifically, the study highlighted that RPM demonstrated positive outcomes in patient safety and adherence, and improved patients' mobility and functional statuses. This early warning feature considerably improves patient safety by enabling timely clinical interventions before symptoms worsen. A known patient with serious congestive heart failure can also be given diuretic adjustments remotely, avoiding hospitalisation. RPM also decreases the risks associated with medications by enabling physicians to identify missed doses and adverse reactions. Long-term data further strengthens safety by showing patterns—like low oxygen levels at night in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients—that single tests might miss. Personalised interventions are supported by this fine-grained understanding, especially for high-risk populations such as patients living in rural areas that have improved access to attentive monitoring. By combining speed and accuracy, RPM transforms patient safety to an actionable, data-driven and efficient procedure rather than a fixed objective. Key technologies driving remote patient monitoring: enabling safer, data-driven care Remote patient monitoring depends on a complex ecosystem of linked technology that extends clinical supervision outside of facility boundaries. Wearable devices form the basic foundation of this system—with regulatory-approved sensors capturing vital metrics continuously. RPM is transforming healthcare by shifting from reactive to proactive safety strategies. These digital systems continuously track vital signs, medication compliance and physiological parameters outside traditional clinical settings. This enables early detection of deterioration before serious complications arise. Advanced cardiac monitors identify arrhythmias with 98% accuracy and smart glucose sensors provide real-time glycaemic information via subcutaneous readings. Connected devices for tracking urinary patterns help physicians diagnose various types of incontinence without requiring in-person assessments, improving dignity and convenience for patients with mobility challenges. Smart inhalers with embedded sensors record medication usage patterns and technique, enabling precise interventions for respiratory conditions. Mobile applications are a link between patients and clinical teams—with simple dashboards that show health trends and medication adherence. These platforms usually combine clinical protocols, secure messaging systems and alerts based on preset thresholds. Backend analytics platforms transform raw physiological data into clinically relevant insights through sophisticated algorithms. These systems analyse longitudinal data against established baselines to detect minor abnormalities that precede clinical deterioration. According to studies, these predictive capacities can detect sepsis 6–12 hours earlier than traditional approaches, considerably increasing survival rates.[3] Secure, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant electronic health record (EHR) integration—using end-to-end encryption and strict authentication—creates comprehensive patient profiles, enabling better-informed treatment decisions. Implementing remote patient monitoring: main challenges RPM has numerous benefits in healthcare, but putting it into practice involves challenges that need thoughtful solutions. Digital literacy gaps create accessibility barriers, particularly among elderly populations where only 64% report comfort with technology-based healthcare tools according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society survey of 3,450 seniors.[4] Privacy concerns are significant as continuous monitoring generates sensitive health data that requires strong security. To maintain patient trust while meeting regulatory standards, healthcare centres must use end-to-end encryption, unambiguous consent mechanisms and transparent data governance frameworks. Another problem is clinical workflow integration; RPM systems that function without the use of EHR platforms result in documentation silos. Customised integration pathways that embed remote monitoring data within regular clinical interfaces are required for successful RPM implementation. When clinicians get an overwhelming number of notifications, the intended safety benefits are undermined. Effective systems use tiered alert processes with tailored thresholds that are based on patient baselines rather than population norms. These graduated notification systems ensure that important notifications receive necessary attention while preventing frequent low-risk alerts. As healthcare organisations face these issues, good implementation frameworks that include technical assistance, privacy safeguards and workflow optimisation are relevant to fulfilling RPM's full potential. Best practices for patient-centered remote monitoring Effective RPM is beyond technological equipment; it requires an effective structure that can only come from consistent planning and review. Healthcare organisations should establish dedicated implementation teams comprising clinicians, IT staff and patient advocates to gather diverse viewpoints and boost adoption of RPM. This cross-functional strategy improves RPM acceptance and sustainability while lowering possible resistance. Healthcare administrators should train providers thoroughly on both technical use of medical devices and data interpretation. A 2023 NEJM Catalyst study of 76 healthcare centres showed that centres with robust training of healthcare professionals had 43% higher RPM use after a year compared to those with minimal training.[5] Healthcare professionals should also be trained to focus equally on patient support through easy enrolment, clear instructions in multiple languages and in-person device training. Dedicated tech support channels should be created for RPM users in order to prevent frustration whenever there is a network glitch. Clear clinical protocols defining intervention thresholds, escalation pathways and response timeframes should be made to transform data into actionable intelligence. Rigorous quality assurance measures—including regular connectivity testing, data validation audits and patient usability assessments—safeguard programme integrity. Periodic review cycles examining alert frequency, response times and intervention outcomes help refine system parameters for maximum clinical utility. The most effective RPM programmes integrate patient feedback mechanisms allowing continuous refinement of interfaces, alert frequencies, and educational materials based on real-world experience. Conclusion RPM is improving healthcare from reactive to preventive care. As technology advances, these systems will become standard practice. Future developments will include smaller sensors, longer battery life and better connectivity—making monitoring easier for patients while improving data quality. Better predictive analytics will help physicians identify health problems earlier with greater accuracy. Beyond helping patients, RPM is changing organisational safety culture by expanding care beyond hospitals. This shift represents a major advancement—creating continuous monitoring systems that protect patients throughout their healthcare journey and redefining patient safety for modern medicine. References 1. Mass General Brigham. Mass General Brigham Remote Healthcare Delivery Program Improves Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Level, 9 November 2022. 2. Ying Tan S, et al. A systematic review of the impacts of remote patient monitoring (RPM) interventions on safety, adherence, quality-of-life and cost-related outcomes. NPJ Digital Medicine 2024; 7: 192. 3. King J, et al. Early Recognition and Initial Management of Sepsis in Adult Patients. Ann Arbor (MI): Michigan Medicine University of Michigan, 2023. 4. American Geriatrics Society 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2024; 72: III-VI. 5. Barrett JB, et al. Reduced Hospital Readmissions Through Personalized Care: Implementation of a Patient, Risk-Focused Hospital-Wide Discharge Care Center. NEJM Catal Innov Care Deliv 2025;6(6). DOI: 10.1056/CAT.24.0420. Further reading on the hub Putting patients at the heart of digital health Digital diagnosis—what the doctor ordered? Electronic patient record systems: Putting patient safety at the heart of implementation How do we harness technology responsibly to safeguard and improve patient care?

In this blog, Siân Slade shares how, through her research interest into the difficulties of navigating the healthcare system in Australia, she created a policy and advocacy project: #NavigatingHealth. The aims of the project are to streamline the silos and address the fragmentation of healthcare by bringing together all those who are developing solutions to enable patients and carers to better navigate healthcare journeys.  Background About 10 years ago, I listened to a friend’s experience navigating cancer and puzzled over the challenges encountered. These made me question my prior assumption of 'patient-centricity' across healthcare. In 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a report highlighting the complexities of the Australian healthcare system. This led me to realise that while we do have patient-centred care, it is often provider dependent, not system-wide, and relies on the patient (or carer) to navigate the system; a time when individuals are at their most vulnerable. Given 'the standard you accept is the standard you walk past”, I decided to do 'my bit' to address this. I enrolled in a Master of Public Health, researching healthcare navigation in Australia. I found there was a fragmented approach to try and address an already fragmented problem. This led me to embark on a PhD as well as develop a policy and advocacy platform: #NavigatingHealth. Setting up a national network and community of practice My focus has always been on a practical approach that solves problems for individuals but also seeks to understand how to scale these at a systems level to sustain change in the long-term. If this was a known problem, why was nothing being done to address it? Surely this was something government were addressing... or there must be an app? I spoke to lots of people—patients, carers, speakers at conferences, those who had written books of their healthcare experience and, yes, those developing apps. Everyone agreed it was a problem, but nothing was addressing the totality of the problem. The problem was not just in navigating healthcare, but also the challenges navigating related systems, such as those for people with disabilities, or for aged care, as well as social services and education. #NavigatingHealth started life as two, 60-minute webinars held in mid and late September 2021, supported by the Australian Disease Management Association. The inaugural webinar speakers provided vignettes across a life journey—from childhood through to getting older—based on their own lived-experiences as patients, carers or professionals (not-for-profit, health services and government). The positive reception of the webinars led to setting up a bimonthly national network and community of practice in Australia that ran until the end of 2024. The meetings were deliberately not recorded to build a safe space for people to share ideas, build tacit (word of mouth) knowledge and a like-minded solutions focused community. Summaries of all the events and speakers are available on the #NavigatingHealth project page. In health, information and projects evolve. Building an online community was low-cost and accessible to everyone. The success of the Australian approach led to a series of global webinars using the same format of expertise provision from individuals in research, policy, and advocacy and health services. The first global webinar was held in 2022 attracting over 20 countries. Connecting and collaborating The 'glocal' community continues to grow. Projects are constantly evolving, elevating and expanding as well as exiting often impacted by funding constraints. In the spirit of a complex adaptive learning health system, core to our success is the community knowledge built through relationships, trust, like-values and non-linear interactions. Taking an approach that is resourceful versus one requiring constant resourcing (we use accessible tools such as LinkedIn and more recently Bluesky) to provide an effective, free platform to keep individuals in touch with one another. Our dedicated #NavigatingHealth project page on the Nossal Institute for Global Health website at the University of Melbourne acts as a central hub for events and resources. The genesis during the pandemic and expansion virtually through Teams and Zoom, as well as in-person post-pandemic, has enabled different ways to expand the national community, the global network and we welcome all-comers. The project is voluntary and our success is based on linking people, developing relationships, sharing expertise, maintaining momentum and the opportunity we all have to impact into #NavigatingHealth. The annual forums, 2024 #NavigatingHealth Simplifying Complexity and 2025 #NavigatingHealth Enabling Patients, System-Wide, focused on bringing together colleagues nationally in Australia. The in-person workshops created the opportunity to build community, share ideas, leverage learnings and also provide educational content. These collaborations have allowed development of materials for curriculum and teaching, and an evolving conversation about the importance of systems-thinking. We developed a short global project collecting stories from individuals who are happy to be involved. Our video, NavigatingHealth - why this matters, provides a glimpse of our approach. Looking forward The Future of Health Report published in 2018 highlights that our health systems, locally and globally, will change from 'one size fits all' to one that is personalised. The challenge is how? Future of Health Report, CSIRO 2018. The 'secret sauce' is that by working collaboratively we can all be part of evolving and effecting systems change. The work is underpinned by equity and a focus on enabling early access to care, addressing barriers, such as financial or cultural constraints, and helping to make visible information asymmetries and power imbalances to ensure effective collaboration and co-production. Building on the success of our past forums, planning for 2026 is underway. Block out 1 April 2026 in your calendar for the inaugural #NavigatingHealth Day! Our collective expertise is our power—let’s do this! Want to know more? Please get in touch with Siân at [email protected] or via LinkedIn. Further reading on the hub: The challenges of navigating the healthcare system How the Patients Association helpline can help you navigate your care Lost in the system? NHS referrals

Join Aqua for their national event, ‘Transforming Tomorrow Through Leadership and Improvement Today’ to connect, learn, and shape the future of health and care through co-production and partnership working. It will be bringing together healthcare leaders, innovators, and change-makers for an afternoon of insightful discussion and meaningful connections as we mark 15 years of the Advancing Quality Alliance being the leading improvement partners. With an exciting line-up of speakers and time for discussion and networking, this event is an opportunity for you to gain fresh perspectives and reconnect with peers. Register

On the 10 April 2025, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) published a report looking at how care is co-ordinated for people with long-term conditions. In particular, the investigation considered the role of ‘care co-ordinator’ to understand how care is co-ordinated within the existing workforce. In this blog, Patient Safety Learning sets out its reflections on the findings and recommendations in this report. HSSIB investigates patient safety concerns across the NHS in England and in independent healthcare settings where safety learning could also help to improve NHS care. Their latest report looks at primary and community care co-ordination for people with long-term conditions, specifically considering the role of ‘care coordinator’ in this context.[1] While language around the care coordination is varied, the role of care co-ordinated is defined by NHS England as follows: “Care co-ordinators help to co-ordinate and navigate care across the health and care system, helping people make the right connections, with the right teams at the right time. They can support people to become more active in their own health and care and are skilled in assessing people’s changing needs. Care co-ordinators are effective in bringing together multidisciplinary teams to support people’s complex health and care needs.”[2] In this blog we set out our reflections on the findings and recommendations in this HSSIB investigation. Challenges navigating the healthcare system Navigating the healthcare system in the UK can be complex and frustrating for patients, families and carers. At Patient Safety Learning we hear time and time again about the lack of joined up care and communication within and across organisations. Failing to share the right information at the right time can create significant patient safety risks. Poor communications, both with patients and between healthcare professionals, can result in misunderstandings and mistakes resulting in poor outcomes and potentially patient harm. In a recent series of blogs published on the hub, patients and their relatives shared with us the challenges and barriers they have faced when trying to navigate the healthcare system.[3] The concerns and issues raised in this HSSIB investigation echo many of the key themes we identified in our new blog series. Confusing communications HSSIB’s report refers to the case of a child prescribed anti-epileptic medication by a specialist hospital to reduce the number and severity of their seizures. It then details the difficulties the parents subsequently found in getting this medication through their GP or consultant. The parents highlighted concerns about the lack of communication between the separate services, with the report noting: “The parents told the investigation that they were ‘exhausted’ because of the effort they had had to put in over the years to connect services together, having to tell the same story over and over again, while having to provide care for their child.” Delays to treatment The investigation report also highlights the case of a middle-aged professional working man who suffered a stroke. He received hospital care to treat and manage his healthcare needs; however, once discharged he encountered significant difficulties when seeking appropriate support for his additional healthcare needs. HSSIB highlighted how he had told them it required significant effort from him directly to ensure the right level of care was maintained for his needs. Recounting his experience, the report states: “He said that these multiple agencies ‘all operate in their own silos’ and not as a team, and that ‘there was nobody to create that team [a cross-system team aware of all his health and care concerns]’. The way that he and his wife cope with this situation is that they ‘manage the team’ to connect the individual parts of the system and get the care he needs.” Impact on mental health HSSIB also spoke to a man in his late seventies who is the main carer for his wife. She has multiple long-term conditions that require primary, secondary and community care. Reflecting on the impact that coordinating her care had on their lives, the report noted: “The husband explained that his role of care co-ordinator had placed a considerable burden on him, which led him to ‘feel overwhelmed’. He said that because he needing to act as her ‘co-ordinator’ he was unable to spend time with his wife as her husband. He also described having to administer medication and dress his wife’s wound which caused her considerable pain.” HSSIB’s investigation also highlights broader areas of concern relating to the coordination of care in the healthcare system, again mirroring themes raised we heard from patients in our recent blog series. Difficulties sharing information The investigation highlights a recurring concern around problems sharing patient information and the negative impact of this on coordinating a patient’s care. It highlights both issues of digital systems in different organisations not being compatible with one another and other barriers, stating: “Healthcare professionals described the challenges in information sharing. Digital patient records could not be viewed across primary, community, secondary and tertiary care because information technology systems are unable to ‘talk to each other’. They also said that sometimes they were unsure whether patient information could be shared as it was ‘protected information’. This was a particular problem when trying to share information between health and social care.” A complex and confusing system The report also reflects more broadly on how accessing and navigating health and care services can be difficult and complex, and potentially overwhelming for patients. This was highlighted by examples such as this from the investigation: “A GP practice told the investigation that it had tried to put together an easy-to-read document explaining the care pathway for patients with dementia, including contact numbers and ways to access services. The GP practice went on to say that the system was so complex that it was unable to bring together all the information. It stated: ‘We are healthcare professionals and we can’t do this, so how can patients cope?’” Safety recommendations A theme that runs throughout HSSIB’s investigation is that there is a clear need and support for the role of care co-ordination. It highlights that while patients and carers can, and often do, themselves act in this role, when they are unwell or unable to do so a patient’s care can be significantly impacted. The report states that the availability of care co-ordination varies widely across the system. This is a particular issue for those living with multiple long-term conditions as there is no single centralised care co-ordination function to span across primary, secondary and tertiary care. Concluding its investigation, HSSIB recommends that: NHS England/Department of Health and Social Care, working with other relevant organisations, reviews and evaluates the implementation of the care co-ordinator role. This is to ensure that all patients with long-term conditions have their care co-ordinated and that they have a single point of contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help them with any queries or concerns that they may have. The Department of Health and Social Care works with NHS England and other stakeholders to develop a strategy that ensures that all diseases are given parity and that all people with a long-term condition in primary, secondary, tertiary and community or social care have their care effectively co-ordinated across multiple agencies. This is to ensure that people with long-term health conditions have co-ordinated care plans with effective communication between services and a single point of contact for concerns or questions. Patient Safety Learning agrees that there needs to be greater time and investment into care coordination. On the first recommendation, we would note that seeking to ensure all patients with long-term conditions have a single point of contact 24 hours of day, 7 days a week, would be a significant shift from the status quo. This would require a clear commitment of both financial and workforce resources from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver. In considering how this might be approached, it would also be important to consider: How this can be flexible depending on the long-term condition in question. Different conditions will require different levels and types of coordination. Systemic barriers that result in many of the difficulties navigating the care system would not be addressed by implementing this recommendation. For example: – We would continue to have various digital systems in primary, secondary and tertiary care that lack interoperability (the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information). – Non-digital communication barriers that prevent cross-organisational sharing of information in the NHS, ranging from data sharing restrictions to cultural attitudes within organisations, would also remain. On the second recommendation we agree with the principle of this, that there needs to be parity for people with a long-term condition and an expectation that their care is effectively co-ordinated across multiple agencies. Poorly coordinated care is not only confusing and frustrating for patients but also creates safety risks that can result in serious avoidable harm. Concluding comments The challenges of navigating the healthcare system discussed in this report are not a new issue, but a long-standing set of problems that do not have a simple solution. Their impact on patient experiences and outcomes is exacerbated in the current environment, when our healthcare system that is under increasing pressure and in a “critical condition”.[4] Patient Safety Learning believes that care co-ordination should form an important area of focus for the UK Government’s forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan. If it is to achieve its strategic ‘shift’ of moving the future of the NHS from "hospital to community" this will require a healthcare system where patients aren’t simply left to "join the dots for patient safety".[5] This will require organisational and leadership commitment to take forward the issues raised in this HSSIB investigation. The needs of patients should be central to improving health and care services, actively listening and acting on their experiences and insights when things go wrong for safety improvement. References HSSIB. Workforce and patient safety: primary and community care co-ordination for people with long-term conditions, 10 April 2025. NHS England. Care co-ordinators, Last accessed 10 April 2025. Patient Safety Learning. The challenges of navigating the healthcare system, 24 February 2025. UK Parliament. NHS: Independent Investigation, Hansard, Volume 753, 12 September 2024. Department of Health and Social Care, Independent report: Review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission, 15 October 2024. Related reading Digital-only prescription requests: An elderly woman sent round the houses How the Patients Association helpline can help you navigate your care Lost in the system? NHS referrals Navigating the healthcare system as a university student: My personal experience The challenges of navigating the healthcare system: David's story The challenges of navigating the healthcare system: Sue's story Share your story What has been your experience of navigating the healthcare system? What is and isn’t working? How does it feel as a patient or carer when you hit barriers? Has your health been affected? Share your story in our community forum or contact our editorial team at [email protected].