Future of Connected Health: Technologies, Use Cases, Impact of AI, and More

The approach proved inefficient because you had to deal with significant gaps in visibility between encounters. To solve this problem, connected care solutions introduced remote monitoring and real-time data exchanges to support care beyond the clinic walls.

That was only the beginning, though. The future of connected health promises much more capability, especially as AI advances accelerate.

This post explores how connected healthcare solutions are transforming care delivery and what you can expect going into the future.

What is Connected Health?

Connected health is an approach to care delivery that uses technology to enable you to serve your patients remotely.

It can help you shift care delivery from episodic visits to one characterized by continuous patient engagement, supported by near-real-time data.

To make such a shift, you typically need the following resources:

• Connected devices to collect and transmit physiological data
• Cloud-based platforms to aggregate the physiological data, as well as patient-reported non-physiological data
• A dedicated clinical team for remote monitoring, engagement, and proactive interventions

Therefore, the use of technology does not take away the human element of care. With a dedicated clinical team, your patients still receive the personalized and compassionate support they need.

Key Technologies That Power Connected Health

To deliver connected health services, you’ll rely heavily on connected devices and a purpose-built cloud-based platform.

The seamless alignment between the devices, platform, and your clinical team is normally powered by the following capabilities:

• Internet of Medical Things (IoMT): It enables connected care workflows by integrating devices (wearables, implantables, etc.), connectivity layers (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cellular networks), and cloud-based platforms for near real-time data exchange.
• Interoperability standards: Aside from the devices and care platforms, data also needs to move seamlessly between EHRs and AI/analytics tools. Interoperability standards, such as Health Level Seven (HL7) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), enable such seamless data sharing.
• 5G and edge computing: With its ultra-low latency, 5G is now enabling near-instant transmission of patient data. It has supercharged the benefits of remote patient monitoring by enabling clinical teams to spot adverse events early before they escalate.

While the above mix of capabilities may appear technically complex, your connected health implementation doesn’t have to be. You can rely on KangarooHealth for a turnkey implementation.

How KangarooHealth Makes Implementation Easier

KangarooHealth brings together the devices, connectivity, cloud platform, and your clinical workflows into one integrated system.

Here is what sets it apart:

• Device Flexibility: The platform works with any remote monitoring device, including smart blood pressure monitors, glucometers, pillboxes, and scales. There are no upfront costs and no interest on device installments.
• EHR Integration: It connects with your existing EHR through in-house HL7 and FHIR support. No workflow disruptions.
• Condition Coverage: The platform supports 50+ chronic conditions. New care pathways can be set up in minutes, from hypertension to autoimmune diseases.
• Clinical Staffing: The monitoring team maintains one nurse per 125 to 150 patients, well above the industry standard.
• Multilingual Support: Patients get support in their own language, which is part of why compliance rates exceed 85% across programs.
• Pricing Structure: KangarooHealth charges based on CPT codes rather than flat per-patient fees. This aligns incentives and lowers financial risk for your organization.

Unlike pure software platforms, KangarooHealth pairs device monitoring with real clinicians who carry out your care plans. That human element is what drives results.

That kind of hands-on approach adds up over time. Here is what KangarooHealth has achieved so far:

• Data Depth: KangarooHealth has collected over 6 million physiological data points. That gives providers a much clearer picture of patient health between visits.
• Active Monitoring: The clinical team has logged over 200,000 hours monitoring patients outside the clinic.
• Fewer Emergencies: Enrolled patients see 48% fewer adverse events. That means fewer trips to the hospital.
• Provider Satisfaction: 98% of providers who use the platform say they are satisfied with it.
• Patients Supported: KangarooHealth has helped over 13,500 patients through its clinical monitoring services.

KangarooHealth can help you deploy connected health across the following programs:

• Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
• Chronic Care Management (CCM)
• Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM)
• Principal Care Management (PCM)
• Advanced Primary Care Management (APCM)
• Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE)

See it in action. Speak with a KangarooHealth expert to see how our remote care solutions can transform your healthcare organization.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Connected Healthcare

AI is currently playing a significant role in connected health at the data analysis and interpretation layer, turning raw data into actionable insights.

Going into the future, we are likely to see AI play an even bigger role in the following areas:

• Predictive analytics: Using established baselines and pattern recognition capabilities, AI will get better at anticipating risk so you can make timely interventions. At KangarooHealth, we’ve already deployed these capabilities in chronic disease management programs to help providers prioritize high-risk patients and allocate resources more efficiently.
• Personalization of care: AI is enabling a shift from standardized care to personalized and data-driven interventions. Personalization is likely to get better as data and behavior analysis improve.
• Automating clinical workflows: When scaling connected health, the volume of incoming data might overwhelm your team. AI is proving valuable in turning the data into structured, prioritized, and actionable insights. For instance, at KangarooHealth, our implementations come with tailored escalation protocols that automate alert triage and task routing.

The Future of Connected Health in Remote Patient Care and Monitoring

While remote patient care and monitoring have become associated with chronic disease management, the capabilities of connected health are rapidly evolving beyond long-term chronic care.

Looking ahead, you can expect connected health to expand remote patient care into the following areas:

Hospital-at-Home Models

Providers are already rolling out hospital-at-home programs for cardiovascular conditions, common infections, chronic disease exacerbations, and post-surgical recovery.

While the programs now focus on select stable patients, advancements in connected health may enable them to develop into scalable, mainstream care delivery models. These advancements will likely come from improvements in data streams, oversight infrastructure, and AI-driven clinical insights.

Behavior-Driven Care Delivery Models

At the moment, remote patient care relies mostly on physiological data and standardized care plans.

As connected care matures, we’ll likely also see behavior and adherence patterns inform interventions. Also, many providers will likely adopt dynamic care plans that evolve in real time according to incoming patient data/information.

Use Cases of Connected Healthcare Systems

You can employ connected healthcare solutions to improve care delivery in several ways, including:

• Chronic care: Examples of connected health in chronic care include RPM for diabetes and RPM for hypertension. It’s also beneficial in chronic care management for patients with comorbidities.
• Post-discharge care: Connected care devices and platforms can help you monitor patients at home, enhancing transitional care and reducing readmissions.
• Elderly and long-term care: In elderly care, continuous oversight and timely interventions are essential. Connected healthcare systems allow you to achieve this level of care while still giving your elderly patients the independence they need. It provides tools to monitor/detect falls, movement, and medication adherence.

Common Mistakes in Implementing Connected Health Solutions

With a good implementation partner, you’ll likely avoid most of the common mistakes associated with deploying connected health solutions.

Nonetheless, it still helps to be aware of the following common issues:

• Poor program design: Poor design can lead to inefficient task routing, unclear escalation protocols, and fragmented clinical workflows. KangarooHealth offers custom implementations and integrations that allow you to manage your patient population efficiently without adding to your operational burden.
• Ignoring the human element: While technology is important in delivering connected health services, you must not sacrifice the human element when scaling care delivery with tech solutions. You can use our virtual clinical support services to ensure a human is always in the loop.
• Ignoring rural access limitations: If you serve a rural population, you must account for limitations such as poor or unreliable connectivity. For instance, at KangarooHealth, we offer cellular-powered devices that can reliably transmit data without the need for patient-provided internet.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Let’s now answer some of the commonly asked questions about implementing connected health systems in a healthcare organization.

What is the Cost of Connected Health Deployment?

The cost of implementations varies depending on the vendor and the scale of your operations. However, you can eliminate cost as a barrier to implementation by working with a vendor like KangarooHealth, which offers free setup.

How Do Providers Measure ROI From Connected Health?

You can measure the ROI from connected health by comparing its financial impact against the cost of running the program/system. The potential impacts include higher revenue from increased reimbursement and lower costs from avoided utilization.

How Do Hospitals Select Connected Health Platforms?

The decision on which platform to go for mostly depends on your patient population, clinical workflows, and unique operational considerations.

Generally, you can use the following factors to evaluate if a platform is a good fit for your hospital/clinic/practice:

• Customizability to match existing clinical workflows
• Financial sustainability (ROI considerations)
• Availability of clinical support services
• Integration with your existing EHR
• Patient data security
• Billing compliance

Conclusion

We’ve explored how connected health will shape care delivery going forward. While many of the advancements we’ve discussed look into the future, it’s vital to remember that connected health services have already been implemented at scale across the nation.

For instance, at KangarooHealth, we’ve already helped several providers across the nation, including those in remote rural areas, to roll out remote patient care for chronic conditions.

We’ve future-proofed these implementations in several ways, including partnering with Zephyr AI to ensure we are always on the cutting edge of AI. Our platform is also device-agnostic, allowing us to onboard new advanced devices as they become available.

Ready to implement connected health today with technology built for the future?

Contact us today to chat with an expert and see how our platform, devices, integrations, and workflows can fit your unique healthcare setting.