Birthe Dinesen

Using preventive home monitoring to reduce hospital admission rates and reduce costs: a case study of telehealth among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

We studied whether preventive home monitoring of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could reduce the frequency of hospital admissions and lower the cost of hospitalization. Patients were recruited from a health centre, general practitioner (GP) or the pulmonary hospital ward. They were randomized to usual care or tele-rehabilitation with a telehealth monitoring device installed in their home for four months. A total of 111 patients were suitable for inclusion and consented to be randomized: 60 patients were allocated to intervention and three were lost to follow-up. In the control group 51 patients were allocated to usual care and three patients were lost to follow-up. In the tele-rehabilitation group, the mean hospital admission rate was 0.49 per patient per 10 months compared to the control group rate of 1.17; this difference was significant (P = 0.041). The mean cost of admissions was €3461 per patient in the intervention group and €4576 in the control group; this difference was not significant. The Kaplan-Meier estimates for time to hospital admission were longer for the intervention group than the controls, but the difference was not significant. Future work requires large-scale studies of prolonged home monitoring with more extended follow-up.

Personalized Telehealth in the Future: A Global Research Agenda

As telehealth plays an even greater role in global health care delivery, it will be increasingly important to develop a strong evidence base of successful, innovative telehealth solutions that can lead to scalable and sustainable telehealth programs. This paper has two aims: (1) to describe the challenges of promoting telehealth implementation to advance adoption and (2) to present a global research agenda for personalized telehealth within chronic disease management. Using evidence from the United States and the European Union, this paper provides a global overview of the current state of telehealth services and benefits, presents fundamental principles that must be addressed to advance the status quo, and provides a framework for current and future research initiatives within telehealth for personalized care, treatment, and prevention. A broad, multinational research agenda can provide a uniform framework for identifying and rapidly replicating best practices, while concurrently fostering global collaboration in the development and rigorous testing of new and emerging telehealth technologies. In this paper, the members of the Transatlantic Telehealth Research Network offer a 12-point research agenda for future telehealth applications within chronic disease management.

Moving prediction of exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for patients in telecare

We investigated whether physiological data can be used for predicting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. Home measurements from 57 patients were analysed, during which 10 exacerbations occurred in nine patients. A total of 273 different features were evaluated for their discrimination abilities between periods with and without exacerbations. The analysis showed that if a sensitivity level of 70% is considered to be acceptable, then the specificity was 95% and the AUC was 0.73, i.e. it is possible to discriminate between periods of exacerbation and periods without. A system capable of predicting risk could provide support to COPD patients in their tele-rehabilitation.

Under surveillance, yet looked after: telehomecare as viewed by patients and their spouse/partners

Introduction: In this research project, a group of heart patients were transferred from traditional hospital settings to home hospitalisation across sectors. The project involved patients with heart failure and arrhythmia. Aim: The aim was to understand the experiences and attitudes of patients and their spouses/partners with regard to the application of telehomecare technology as an option within home hospitalisation. Methods: A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was used to collect and interpret the findings and data. A triangulation of data collection techniques was applied using participation observation and qualitative interviews with patients and spouse/partner. Data were analysed from the perspective of the sociology of everyday life. Findings: The impact of home hospitalisation on patients is described according to several themes: security, freedom, increased awareness of own symptoms, being ‘looked after’ but annoyed with their spouse/partner. The patients experience a seamless cross-sector patient care process. The impact on the spouse/partner includes elements of increased responsibility, nervous tension, and invasion of privacy. Conclusion: Patients believe that home hospitalisation speeds up the process of returning to everyday life, both physically and mentally. It is important to be aware of certain anxieties experienced by the patients spouse/partner about home hospitalisation, and these anxieties may also affect the patient.

Cost-Utility Analysis of a Telerehabilitation Program: A Case Study of COPD Patients

OBJECTIVE The present study seeks to conduct cost-utility analysis (CUA) of the Danish TELEKAT (Telehomecare, Chronic Patients and the Integrated Healthcare System) project. The TELEKAT project seeks to test and develop a preventive home monitoring concept across sectors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The concept of the TELEKAT project is to reduce admissions by enabling the COPD patients to conduct self-monitoring and maintain rehabilitation activities in their own home. COPD patients with severe and very severe COPD were included in the study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This economic evaluation follows international guidelines for the conduction of a CUA alongside a clinical randomized controlled trial. The analysis is based on a health sector perspective. RESULTS The mean incremental cost efficiency ratio, located in the southeast quadrant, shows that telerehabilitation is less costly and more effective than the rehabilitation given to the control group. The telerehabilitation program produces more value for money and generates savings on healthcare budgets. CONCLUSIONS The telerehabilitation program appears to be more cost-effective than the conventional rehabilitation program for COPD patients. Further studies of cost-effectiveness with a focus on large-scale studies are needed.

Cardiac Patients’ Walking Activity Determined by a Step Counter in Cardiac Telerehabilitation: Data From the Intervention Arm of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Walking represents a large part of daily physical activity. It reduces both overall and cardiovascular diseases and mortality and is suitable for cardiac patients. A step counter measures walking activity and might be a motivational tool to increase and maintain physical activity. There is a lack of knowledge about both cardiac patients’ adherence to step counter use in a cardiac telerehabilitation program and how many steps cardiac patients walk up to 1 year after a cardiac event. Objective The purpose of this substudy was to explore cardiac patients’ walking activity. The walking activity was analyzed in relation to duration of pedometer use to determine correlations between walking activity, demographics, and medical and rehabilitation data. Methods A total of 64 patients from a randomized controlled telerehabilitation trial (Teledi@log) from Aalborg University Hospital and Hjoerring Hospital, Denmark, from December 2012 to March 2014 were included in this study. Inclusion criteria were patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, and coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery. In Teledi@log, the patients received telerehabilitation technology and selected one of three telerehabilitation settings: a call center, a community health care center, or a hospital. Monitoring of steps continued for 12 months and a step counter (Fitbit Zip) was used to monitor daily steps. Results Cardiac patients walked a mean 5899 (SD 3274) steps per day, increasing from mean 5191 (SD 3198) steps per day in the first week to mean 7890 (SD 2629) steps per day after 1 year. Adherence to step counter use lasted for a mean 160 (SD 100) days. The patients who walked significantly more were younger (P=.01) and continued to use the pedometer for a longer period (P=.04). Furthermore, less physically active patients weighed more. There were no significant differences in mean steps per day for patients in the three rehabilitation settings or in the disease groups. Conclusions This study indicates that cardiac telerehabilitation at a call center can support walking activity just as effectively as telerehabilitation at either a hospital or a health care center. In this study, the patients tended to walk fewer steps per day than cardiac patients in comparable studies, but our study may represent a more realistic picture of walking activity due to the continuation of step counter use. Qualitative studies on patients’ behavior and motivation regarding step counter use are needed to shed light on adherence to and motivation to use step counters. Trial Registration ClinicalTrails.gov NCT01752192; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01752192 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6fgigfUyV)

Attitudes of COPD patients towards tele-rehabilitation: a cross-sector case study.

The aim of this paper is to describe patients’ attitudes towards tele-rehabilitation in the Danish TELEKAT (for Telehomecare, Chronic Patients and the Integrated Healthcare System) project, in order to better understand patients’ behavior when performing tele-rehabilitation activities in home surroundings. A total of 111 COPD patients were included in the study, and they were randomized into an intervention group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 51). However, a non-randomized design was used to analyze the qualitative perspectives of the patients’ attitudes towards tele-rehabilitation. From the intervention group, 22 COPD patients were selected for qualitative interviews and participant observation in their homes. The theoretical framework for this study is based on learning theory and the “communities of practice” approach inspired by Etienne Wenger. COPD patients exhibit four types of attitudes about their tele-rehabilitation: indifference, learning as part of situations in everyday life, feeling of security and motivation for performing physical training. The patients express the view that they circulate between these attitudes depending on their physical and emotional state as they perform their training. The COPD patients and healthcare professionals have created a community of tele-rehabilitation across sectors, exchanging experiences, stories and strategies for how to manage rehabilitation in home surroundings.

Evaluation of Commercial Self-Monitoring Devices for Clinical Purposes: Results from the Future Patient Trial, Phase I

Commercial self-monitoring devices are becoming increasingly popular, and over the last decade, the use of self-monitoring technology has spread widely in both consumer and medical markets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate five commercially available self-monitoring devices for further testing in clinical applications. Four activity trackers and one sleep tracker were evaluated based on step count validity and heart rate validity. Methods: The study enrolled 22 healthy volunteers in a walking test. Volunteers walked a 100 m track at 2 km/h and 3.5 km/h. Steps were measured by four activity trackers and compared to gyroscope readings. Two trackers were also tested on nine subjects by comparing pulse readings to Holter monitoring. Results: The lowest average systematic error in the walking tests was −0.2%, recorded on the Garmin Vivofit 2 at 3.5 km/h; the highest error was the Fitbit Charge HR at 2 km/h with an error margin of 26.8%. Comparisons of pulse measurements from the Fitbit Charge HR revealed a margin error of −3.42% ± 7.99% compared to the electrocardiogram. The Beddit sleep tracker measured a systematic error of −3.27% ± 4.60%. Conclusion: The measured results revealed the current functionality and limitations of the five self-tracking devices, and point towards a need for future research in this area.

Pedometer use and self-determined motivation for walking in a cardiac telerehabilitation program: a qualitative study

BackgroundExercise-based cardiac rehabilitation reduces morbidity and mortality. Walking is a convenient activity suitable for people with cardiac disease. Pedometers count steps, measure walking activity and motivate people to increase physical activity. In this study, patients participating in cardiac telerehabilitation were provided with a pedometer to support motivation for physical activity with the purpose of exploring pedometer use and self-determined motivation for walking experienced by patients and health professionals during a cardiac telerehabilitation program.MethodsA qualitative research design consisting of observations, individual interviews and patient documents made the basis for a content analysis. Data was analysed deductively using Self Determination Theory as a frame for analysis and discussion, focusing on the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. Twelve cardiac patients, 11 health professionals, 6 physiotherapists and 5 registered nurses were included.ResultsThe pedometer offered independence from standardised rehabilitation since the pedometer supported tailoring, individualised walking activity based on the patient’s choice. This led to an increased autonomy. The patients felt consciously aware of health benefits of walking, and the pedometer provided feedback on walking activity leading to an increased competence to achieve goals for steps. Finally, the pedometer supported relatedness with others. The health professionals’ surveillance of patients’ steps, made the patients feel observed, yet supported, furthermore, their next of kin appeared to be supportive as walking partners.ConclusionCardiac patients’ motivation for walking was evident due to pedometer use. Even though not all aspects of motivation were autonomous and self determined, the patients felt motivated for walking. The visible steps and continuous monitoring of own walking activity made it possible for each individual patient to choose their desired kind of activity and perform ongoing adjustments of walking activity. The immediate feedback on step activity and the expectations of health benefits resulted in motivation for walking. Finally, pedometer supported walking made surveillance possible, giving the patients a feeling of being looked after and supported.Trial registrationCurrent study is a part of The Teledi@log project.

Clinical Impact of Home Telemonitoring on Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects millions of people worldwide. A complication of COPD is exacerbations that result in increased utilization of healthcare services, readmissions to the hospital, and a decline in health-related quality of life. Home telehealth has been shown both to improve health-related quality of life and to reduce admission rates. Using clinical data from a home telemonitoring group, this study sought to investigate the clinical impact of telemonitoring. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Fifty-seven subjects with COPD were included in a 4-month telemonitoring project. Differences between the clinical parameters during the first and last months of participation in the project were tested for significance, and the levels for the first month versus the difference were tested for correlation. RESULTS Significant declines were observed in prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids (p=0.03), clinical consultations (p=0.05), mean systolic blood pressure (p<0.001), standard deviation of systolic blood pressure (p=0.03), and mean diastolic blood pressure (p=0.02). No significant differences were observed for mean of oxygen saturation (p=0.77), standard deviation of oxygen saturation (p=0.36), mean of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p=0.17), mean of forced vital capacity (p=0.29), mean of pulse rate (p=0.78), standard deviation of pulse rate (p=0.57), and standard deviation of diastolic blood pressure (p=0.27). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that telemonitoring improves the condition of the patient by lowering the blood pressure, the number of prescribed antibiotics and steroids, and the number of clinical consultations.