Telehomecare and Remote Monitoring: An Outcomes Overview

Wednesday, October 31, 2007  | Stachura M, Khasanshina E

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed)

Telehomecare and remote monitoring technologies can play a vital role in managing costly and debilitating chronic diseases, according to a new report released by AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. The report describes how such technologies—which convey real-time, physiological information on a patient’s condition over the Internet or phone lines—enable physicians to adjust and tailor therapy to meet a patient’s changing needs in between visits to a health care provider.

The report, which is based on a review of published studies on telehomecare and remote monitoring, as well as several current case studies, focused primarily on how these technologies have impacted the care of patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Among the findings in the report:

● A study of 281 congestive heart failure patients who received telehomecare found that they experienced a 60 percent reduction in hospital admissions, a 66 percent decline in emergency room visits and a 59 percent reduction in pharmacy utilization. In contrast, the control group experienced increases in all of these areas.

● When patients with severe respiratory illness requiring long-term oxygen therapy were remotely-monitored, hospital admissions decreased by 50 percent, acute clinical problems decreased 55 percent and hospitalization costs went down by 17 percent.

● A study of 400 diabetes patients found that those monitored by in-home glucose meters and video conferencing showed significantly greater improvement in reducing average blood sugar levels than those who did not receive such monitoring.

The full report is available here.