When installing components of a remote patient health monitoring system (14'), a generic off-the-shelf set top box (STB) (12) and home gateway (30) are configured by inserting a configuration carrier(42) into each device. The configuration carrier (42) has stored thereon configuration routines and information provided by the remote health monitoring service provider. Configuration information includes, without being limited to, network IDs and channel information, hardware ID information, and the like. The home gateway (30) is connected to the STB (12) using WiFi network link, and to a central server (20) over an Ethernet link. The home gateway (30) is further coupled to one or more patient monitoring devices using a wireless link, such as Bluetooth.