Remote patient monitoring and resupply programs have been shown to improve patient adherence to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, according to two separate studies presented at ATS 2018 by ResMed.

In the first study, medXcloud, a ResMed-assembled group of healthcare key opinion leaders, examined de-identified data of more than 2.6 million US PAP users from ResMed’s world-leading remote monitoring network, AirView. Using this big data approach, researchers observed excellent adherence among patients initiating PAP therapy: 75% achieved the CMS compliance threshold. This rate compares very favorably with that of non-cloud-connected PAP therapy and other chronic medical therapies – both around 50%. Plus, the large sample suggests that the findings are generalizable and likely to reflect real-world clinical care.

In a separate study of more than 100,000 well-matched PAP users, ResMed and collaborating researchers found that over a one-year period, those enrolled in a resupply program slept 5.6 hours on PAP each night, compared to 4.5 hours/night for those not enrolled (a 24% increase). Resupply patients were also significantly less likely to terminate PAP altogether, with a one-year termination rate probability of 16.1% for the resupply group, compared with 33.8% for the control group.

“These two studies demonstrate significantly effective ways to help patients achieve 90-day compliance with cloud-based remote monitoring and to keep them compliant over the long term with mask resupply programs,” said Adam Benjafield, researcher on both studies and ResMed’s vice president of Medical Affairs. “This is why every new ResMed PAP device has cloud connectivity without any setup required by the clinician or user, and why we advocate for patients to be enrolled in mask resupply programs to maximize their long-term adherence to improve health outcomes.”