Telemonitoring is defined as monitoring patients from a distance. It is often integrated as a part of a greater system that focuses on disease prevention and management as well as care development. 

Such monitoring usually encompasses the collection of patient data, its transmission, processing, and management through an interface and its delivery to a healthcare provider on said interface. 

When implemented, telemonitoring allows for easy individualized care and gives patients peace of mind as they receive relevant care and information from their healthcare provider.

Tele-monitoring in the fight against chronic illness

- The current healthcare system in the U.S. fails its people in that it is heavily reliant on an "interval system" in which patients receive care and have their needs met only every few months, depending on the availability of the physician/doctor they are seeing. There is no in-between care and therefore people must rely on emergency rooms and urgent care facilities during these times if they need immediate attention. Such immediate care is also exacerbating the financial difficulties of patients since it is extremely costly. 

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Costs include investments in technology, improvement of human resources, and a necessary focus on organizational development. 

Benefits of telehealth include allowing coordination between various health providers, the ability for care to be continuous regardless of where care is being performed, and quick referrals when needed. 

The costs have decreased in the past few decades, however, and this has made the appeal of telehealth increase substantially. 

Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Telehealth 

Bashshur, R. L., Shannon, G. W., Smith, B. R., Alverson, D. C., Antoniotti, N., Barsan, W. G., Bashshur, N., Brown, E. M., Coye, M. J., Doarn, C. R., Ferguson, S., Grigsby, J., Krupinski, E. A., Kvedar, J. C., Linkous, J., Merrell, R. C., Nesbitt, T., Poropatich, R., Rheuban, K. S., … Yellowlees, P. (2014, September). The empirical foundations of telemedicine interventions for chronic disease management. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4148063/. 

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