Using preventive home monitoring to reduce hospital admission rates and reduce costs: a case study of telehealth among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.
Source: Dinesen et al. 2012 - Pubmed ID: 22653618
Setting: Denmark, Health center, general practitioner (GP) or the pulmonary hospital ward
RCT
Follow up: 10 months
Sample size:
Total: 121
IG: 60 (57)
CG: 50 (48)
Inclusion criteria:
- COPD
Video consultation
- Exercise
Home page
- Data
Home monitoring
- Blood pressure
- Pulse
- Weight
- Oxygen level
- Lung function (spirometry)
Intervention: Tele-rehabilitation with a telehealth monitoring device installed in their home for four months. Homemonitoring of blood pressure pulse, weight, oxygen level and lung function. Data transferred via website. Rehabilitation program via videoconference.
Duration: 4 months
Add on: NA
Control group: Usual care
Clinical effect:
- Mean hospital admission rate↓
- The mean cost of admissions↓
Patients safety: NA
Patient experiences: The patients reported that the technology helped them to visualize the data and obtain an overview of the development of symptoms. Most of the patients reported feeling empowered to handle their illness in their everyday lives, and better equipped to avoid re-hospitalization. They also reported that their interaction with the health-care professionals became a mutual learning process and that their relationship moved from subservience to a medical authority to a more reciprocal dialogue with nurses, doctors and health-care providers.
This helped them to better manage their illness in everyday life.
Staff experiences: NA
Investment:
- Step counter
- Monitoring device (wireless)
– Blood pressure
– Pulse
– Weight
– Oxygen level
– Lung function (spirometry) - Development of web page
Running:
- Health-care professionals to assess the patient’s data, monitor the patient’s disease and training inputs, and provide advice to the patient.
- Monthly video meetings between primary and secondary sectors’ health professionals.
Organization: NA
Health care utilization:
- Mean hospital admission rate↓
- The mean cost of admissions↓