In Favor of Home Medical Devices

A majority of American patients support the use of home medical devices to manage and improve their chronic conditions, according to a survey conducted by GfK Roper for Practice Fusion. The survey found that interest in doctors monitoring patient health using remote medical devices was equally high for respondents with and without chronic conditions.

Among those with one or more chronic conditions, the survey found:

Sixty-two percent say that communication with their doctor using home medical devices would improve their health;
Up to 57% of respondents age 25 to 49 reported they were interested in home medical devices;
Thirty-five percent of respondents age 65+ said they were interested in home medical device technology.

Ninety percent of Americans age 65 or older are living with some form of chronic illness, according to the CDC.

Men with chronic conditions (52%) were more interested in home monitoring devices than were women (41%), and interest in these devices tended to decrease with age, the survey found.

The Practice Fusion home medical device study was conducted via omnibus survey on November 19 to 21, 2010. The GfK omnibus survey is a weekly national phone survey of U.S. households. Interviews were conducted from among a sample of 1,008 adults age 18 or older.