Tenovi is rewriting the rules of remote patient monitoring, starting with people whom the healthcare system has forgotten.
By Joshua Heath
Ask any provider or caregiver what’s broken in U.S. healthcare, and you’ll get a list longer than the wait at your local clinic. But if you want a front-row seat to the problem, talk to someone trying to manage a chronic condition from home.
There are 133 million Americans living with at least one chronic illness—diabetes, heart disease, COPD, hypertension—and millions more aging into conditions that require routine check-ins, consistent vitals monitoring, and early intervention when things go sideways. But care teams are overloaded, physicians are increasingly difficult to access, and digital health tools often leave the most vulnerable patients behind.
Medication nonadherence alone accounts for an estimated $500 billion in U.S. healthcare costs annually, representing 16 percent of total spending. Yet adherence for chronic conditions averages only 50%, well below the 80% threshold needed to deliver meaningful outcomes. Combine that with primary care wait times that can stretch beyond 31 days in some states, and it’s clear the system is overextended. Patients managing chronic illness are often left in limbo, waiting for appointments, missing doses, and risking preventable hospitalizations.
It’s not just a convenience gap—it’s a crisis.
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans report that they or a family member had to delay care due to long wait times. And that’s for those who have broadband, know how to download an app, and can remember to log in every day. That’s a lot of “ifs” for an 82-year-old managing congestive heart failure.
Enter Tenovi: A Simpler Way Forward
Enter Tenovi, a company with a refreshingly low-tech, high-impact solution to the remote care problem. Plug In. Power On. That’s It.
Tenovi was built around a radical idea in remote care: technology should work for the patient, not the other way around.
Founded by Nizan Friedman, PhD and Daniel Zondervan, PhD., Tenovi didn’t launch with a flashy app or a high-maintenance dashboard. It launched with a question:
“Why can’t remote monitoring just work right out of the box?”
“We kept seeing platforms that required patients to be IT professionals,” says Zondervan. “Our vision was the opposite. No apps. No Wi-Fi. Just plug it in, power it on, and it works.”
That simplicity isn’t just a design choice—it’s a clinical advantage. With Tenovi, patients don’t need a smartphone, internet connection, or tech-savvy family member to stay connected to their care team. Devices arrive pre-provisioned and ready to use. Measurements are transmitted instantly, using embedded cellular technology.
And it’s not just blood pressure cuffs or scales. Tenovi’s device suite includes harder-to-manage tools, such as connected pillboxes, which help care teams track not just what patients measure, but also whether they’ve taken their medications.
This accessibility-first approach has made Tenovi a trusted partner for home health agencies, value-based care providers, and pharmacy groups working to close gaps in chronic care.
“We’re building for the people tech often forgets,” Friedman says. “If it doesn’t work for your grandma in a rural town, it doesn’t work.”
Tenovi Smart Pillbox | image courtesy of Tenovi
Growing Momentum
In 2024, Tenovi raised a $4.2 million Series A round, led by SpringTide Ventures, to accelerate its work with pharmacies, home health agencies, and chronic care providers across the nation.
“Tenovi is solving a real-world problem with elegant simplicity,” says Ryan Morley, partner at SpringTide Ventures. “They’re one of the few digital health companies that actually work for patients and providers, especially in underserved communities.”
That momentum has translated into high-profile partnerships, including:
A national collaboration with Truentity Health to distribute RPM devices through independent pharmacies
A strategic integration with Nonin Medical focused on advancing health equity for chronic care patients
A new partnership with Trividia Health to reduce the total cost of diabetes care through streamlined glucose monitoring
And the recognition is catching up. Tenovi recently landed the 55th spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies (11th in healthcare overall, No.1 in NH and No. 2 in Boston) and received a Digital Health Award for technology that improves health equity.
Real Impact. Real Scale. Real Progress.
Tenovi’s impact isn’t measured in awards. It’s measured in people.
In 2024, more than 180,000 Tenovi devices were actively deployed nationwide, delivering over 20 million real-time patient measurements. This data helps care teams identify risks early, enhance chronic condition management, and improve patient outcomes—especially in rural and underserved communities.
Today, Tenovi’s platform includes more than 40 FDA-cleared connected devices, offering one of the most comprehensive remote patient monitoring portfolios in the industry.
At Vivo Care, a Tenovi partner with nearly 100 nurses engaging patients daily, RPM has translated into measurable blood pressure improvements. In one North Carolina clinic, patients saw average drops of 5.5 mmHg systolic and 8.7 mmHg diastolic within three months—results that match, and in some cases surpass, those published in JAMA Network Open. Patients who once missed readings now stay engaged thanks to consistent coaching and simple, reliable devices that “just work.”
“Our work with Vivo Care is proof that technology alone can’t drive better health outcomes—people can,” Friedman says. “By making devices intuitive, connectivity seamless, and data actionable, we turn everyday monitoring into proactive care that helps prevent hospitalizations, reduce medication nonadherence, and improve quality of life across every community we serve.”
The Bigger Picture: Pharmacies as Frontline Care
One of Tenovi’s smartest plays was betting on pharmacies.
By placing RPM devices in the hands of community pharmacists, especially in underserved or rural areas, Tenovi has helped unlock a new front door to healthcare. Pharmacists like Ruth Adkins are now empowered to do more than dispense meds; they’re acting as care managers, triaging patients, and catching complications early.
This shift isn’t theoretical. It’s happening now in Mississippi, Virginia, Texas, and Arkansas, with hundreds of pharmacies participating in Tenovi’s nationwide program.
“In many communities, the pharmacist is the most accessible provider,” Friedman says. “So we decided to meet patients where they are—literally.”
What’s Next?
The company is scaling fast. With additional partnerships underway, a growing team, and new use cases being explored in behavioral health and substance use monitoring, Tenovi is proving that remote care doesn’t need to be complicated to be powerful.
As Zondervan puts it: “You shouldn’t need a broadband connection and a PhD to age safely at home.”
In a digital health landscape often driven by complexity, Tenovi is betting on simplicity—and betting on people.
