Across the healthcare landscape, few challenges are as enduring—or as costly—as medication nonadherence. Despite advances in treatment protocols, electronic prescribing, and pharmacy fulfillment technologies, approximately half of all patients with chronic conditions still fail to take their medications as prescribed.
The consequences are staggering: medication nonadherence is linked to over 125,000 preventable deaths annually in the United States and accounts for roughly 10 percent of all hospitalizations. Financially, the toll is equally sobering. A 2018 study estimated that non-optimized medication therapy—including nonadherence—costs the U.S. healthcare system approximately $528 billion each year.
Why traditional interventions fall short
Most adherence strategies have typically relied on tools like text reminders, pill organizers, or brief counseling during office visits. These efforts can be helpful—but they’re often static, reactive, and impersonal. They don’t provide visibility into what’s actually happening between appointments, nor do they adapt in real time. And they rarely surface the deeper reasons patients may be skipping their meds: cost, confusion, side effects, or a simple lack of trust.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) offers a different model—one that’s dynamic and continuous. With RPM, care teams don’t just hope patients are adhering. They can see if vital signs or disease markers begin trending out of range, often before a clinical event occurs. And when RPM is integrated with a responsive care coordination team, that data becomes the basis for real-time intervention.
The impact of RPM on adherence
Recent research supports this shift. A 2022 study showed that hypertensive patients enrolled in an RPM program experienced a 20% improvement in medication adherence compared to those receiving standard care. The key wasn’t just the technology—it was the accountability and support that came with it. When patients know someone is tracking their health data and may follow up if readings deviate, they’re more likely to stay on track.
This effect multiplies when RPM is paired with human touchpoints. A care coordinator checking in about an elevated blood pressure reading can uncover whether a dose was missed, a side effect occurred, or confusion about timing played a role. Rather than waiting for symptoms to worsen or a hospitalization to occur, the care team has a chance to intervene early.
Patients aren’t just data—they’re people with barriers
Adherence is rarely just a matter of forgetfulness. It’s often a signal of something else: financial strain, transportation issues, low health literacy, or even mental health challenges. Traditional care models don’t consistently capture these realities. But when RPM is combined with regular outreach—by phone, text, or video—those barriers come to light. Patients are more likely to share what’s actually happening, and providers are better positioned to help solve it.
This human-touch approach, which is foundational to Quokka Care, is especially powerful for chronic disease management. RPM alone provides data—but when paired with proactive outreach, it becomes a behavioral lever. A rising blood pressure reading, a skipped glucose check, or a sudden drop in activity can all serve as windows into deeper issues: a missed dose, a side effect, or uncertainty about a treatment plan. When care teams use these signals as prompts for timely, personal follow-up, they create accountability loops that strengthen medication habits and rebuild patient trust.
While more condition-specific adherence studies are still emerging, the growing adoption of RPM in chronic care settings is already reshaping how health systems approach the challenge of sustained engagement over time.
Why adherence matters in a value-based world
Non-adherence drives costs: in the form of readmissions, emergency department visits, and preventable disease progression. That makes RPM not just a clinical tool, but a financial lever. For organizations operating under value-based arrangements—or those managing high-risk populations—RPM can be one of the most effective strategies for improving outcomes and reducing spend.
The opportunity is not simply to deploy devices; it’s to build an ecosystem in which real-time data triggers real-time response. That requires rethinking workflows, clarifying who is responsible for follow-up, and investing in the relational infrastructure that builds patient trust over time.
What’s next
As more health systems and risk-bearing providers embrace RPM, the question is shifting from “Does it work?” to “How can we scale it effectively?” The answer will depend on whether RPM is treated as a bolt-on or as a foundational part of chronic care management.
Executed well, RPM doesn’t just collect data. It closes gaps and deepens relationships. And it makes adherence measurable, actionable, and improvable—at scale.
