Remote patient monitoring: market entry strategy

A leading medical technology company asked Health Business Group to evaluate whether the company should expand its presence in the market for remote patient monitoring (RPM) for chronic illness. RPM is a promising technology that has the potential to address fundamental issues in healthcare, especially the rising demand for chronic care coupled with caregiver shortages and financial constraints. However, the potential for RPM has not been realized; reimbursement is just beginning to emerge and few RPM companies have prospered.Opinion within the client’s senior management was sharply divided. Some thought the company should move boldly into the market through major acquisitions while others thought the sector should be avoided entirely.Health Business Group and the client chartered a joint project team to conduct research and make recommendations. We researched the strength and nature of customer demand, which we compiled through interviews and secondary sources. We identified and profiled a set of vendors and competitors, and conducted in-person evaluation sessions with the joint team.Relying on our experience in disease management we developed a quantitative economic value creation model to demonstrate the potential return on investment from RPM for a variety of chronic conditions, including diabetes and heart failure. Finally, we established a set of strategic options and evaluated them according to objective criteria.In the end the joint team adopted a robust set of strategic recommendations that unified top management’s thinking and set the company on a defensible strategic course.