In this week’s update on digital and remote health innovations, we are looking into newly published research in neonatal care. Remote patient monitoring is commonly used to support maternal health during pregnancy. However, did you know that remote health is now supporting newborns? It is doing so by using remote patient monitoring for newborns with inadequate oral feeding to help reduce hospital stays and lower costs.
Inadequate Oral Feeding and Why It Delays Discharge
A new study shows that early discharge supported by remote patient monitoring for newborns not only improves the care experience for families but also results in significant savings for the healthcare system. Inadequate oral feeding in newborns is a clinical condition where infants are unable to consume enough nutrition by mouth to maintain growth and hydration. It is a barrier to hospital discharge in preterm infants.
This means it often keeps otherwise healthy babies in the hospital for extended periods, even after they’re medically stable, solely to support feeding. For hospitals and families alike, this results in high costs, prolonged use of NICU beds, and unnecessary stress.
But what if these infants could go home sooner with remote monitoring devices?
New Research, How Newborns Can Go Home Earlier
A 2025 study published in the Journal of Perinatology by Christina R. Fisher, Dmitry Dukhovny, and Jamie B. Warren researched the financial and clinical impact of remote patient monitoring for newborns discharged with ongoing feeding needs. The study tracked 180 neonates discharged on RPM protocols between May 2019 and June 2024.
The research revealed the following insights:
- Average hospital stay was reduced by 9.2 days per patient thanks to RPM.
- The cost of a remote patient monitoring newborns episode (including equipment, physician monitoring time, and home support) averaged $1,768.24.
- In contrast, the cost of extended hospitalization for the same patients was projected at $13,978.32.
- That’s a cost savings of $12,210 per patient—a reduction from both a payer and system-level view.
Sensitivity analyses confirmed that the primary factor driving savings was the high cost of inpatient care, reinforcing the financial case for scalable RPM programs in neonatal care.
Impact of Remote Patient Monitoring for Newborns
This study strengthens the case for remote patient monitoring in newborns as a scalable strategy with measurable value.
Remote patient monitoring for newborns supports:
- Earlier bonding at home between parents and infants.
- Decompression of NICUs, which are often under high demand.
- Lowered infection risk from prolonged hospital exposure.
- Increased provider efficiency, as time can be redirected from routine in-hospital care to targeted virtual monitoring.
As remote health technologies continue to mature, programs like these offer a real-world model for how RPM can extend beyond chronic care management to improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary utilization in neonatal care.
Understanding Remote Patient Monitoring for Newborns
This week’s highlight shows how remote patient monitoring for newborns with inadequate oral feeding is safe, effective, and financially smart. As more hospitals evaluate RPM use cases, this research could pave the way for widespread adoption in NICUs nationwide.
