Life-long monitoring in COPD
Who is the patient population?
In cluster 5, the targeted patient population is COPD patients, GOLD class III-IV, with life expectance > 12 months.
What characterises the interventions?
The details of the telemedicine interventions and the technologies used differ between the regions. Detailed information at regional level can be found in specific area.
However, all interventions in Cluster 5 are characterised by the following:
- Implementing and assessing long-term telemonitoring services in randomised controlled parallel-group unblinded trials
- Patients recruitment at hospital discharge or during outpatient visits, under the supervision of local chief investigators
- 12 months follow-up period for individual participant
- Remote monitoring and transmission of COPD symptoms (through COPD Assessment Test) and vital sign measurement
- Alarms management in case of patient clinical parameters out of range, informing the clinician who can timely take the proper actions
- Aim to improve COPD patients' quality of life as their primary goal and reduce the number of re-hospitalizations
- In parallel evaluate the economic and organisational impact of the telemonitoring services, and examine the user acceptability of them (both patients and professionals).
What are the expected results at cluster level?
Starting from the results of the assessment of individual pilots using MAST, a meta-analysis will be carried out in order to produce evidence on the telemonitoring impact in real life settings.
In particular the analysis will provide information about the contribution of telemonitoring in improving COPD patients quality of life, in reduction of their need to use the hospital facilities, in control of healthcare expenditure and improvement of the organizational process for care delivery.
The results will be the basis to define the optimum organizational and economic model to introduce telemonitoring as a large scale service also in other healthcare authorities.
Which regions participate?
Timing
| Start of trial/inclusion of patients | Inclusion complete* | Follow-up period ended | Expected time of publishing of results* | |
| Veneto Region | November 2011 | June 2012 | June 2013 | Ultimo 2013 |
| Carinthia | ||||
| Berlin |
*Please note that these are estimates and are subject to change as the trial progress.