Remote monitoring of Chronic Heart Failure
Who is the patient population?
In cluster 7, the targeted patient population is elderly patients with chronic heart failure discharged from the hospital after acute heart failure in the 3 months prior to enrolment.
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 7 are characterised by the following:
- Implementing and assessing one-year follow-up interventions in randomised controlled trials
- Patient recruitment at discharge and until a maximum of three months after discharge for acute heart failure
- Remote monitoring and transmission of vital sign measurement (common parameters in trials: weight, blood pressure, heart rate, ECG)
- Management of all clinical data collected form the patients through a remote telemonitoring center that makes them available to the reference clinical using web-applications
- Management of alarm situations in the case of worsening parameters, informing the reference clinician who consequently takes the appropriate clinical decisions
- Aim to reduce the readmission frequency and mortality as their primary goal and an increase in patients' quality of life
- In parallel evaluate the economic and organisational impact of the interventions, and examine the user acceptability of the telemedicine applications (both patients and professionals).
What are the expected results at cluster level?
The result will - part from individual trial assessments using MAST - be a meta-analysis which calculates the overall effects at cluster level within some aspects of MAST: economic aspect, because the trials will allow to understand how contain the healthcare expenditure while improving the quality of service to the patient; clinical aspect, thanks to the assessment of the clinical effectiveness of the system; organisational aspect, creating an organisational model for telemedicine services that ensures a safe, clear and efficient pathway for patients in their journey through the healthcare system; social aspect, taking into proper consideration patients' and professional users' needs, capabilities, risks and benefits. Also, it will investigate causes for possible differences between regions and thus provide valuable knowledge and documentation for long-term telemedicine intervention for elderly chronic heart failure patients recently discharged from the hospital after acute heart failure based on the data from two regional trials.
Which regions participate?
Region of Central Greece - Greece
Timing
| Start of trial/inclusion of patients | Inclusion complete* | Follow-up period ended | Expected time of publishing of results* | |
| Veneto Region | October 2011 | June 2012 | June 2013 | Ultimo 2013 |
| Region of Central Greece | Spring 2011 | June 2012 | June 2013 | 2013 |
*Please note that these are estimates and are subject to change as the trial progress.