Overall , telemedicine was shown to be beneficial , with home-based teletransmission effectively reducing all-cause mortality and HF-related hospital admission , length of stay and mortality in patients with HF
Telemedicine interventions may be associated with reductions in hospital admission rate and mortality in patients with heart failure ( HF ) .
Effectiveness of Remote Patient Monitoring After Discharge of Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure: The Better Effectiveness After Transition -- Heart Failure (BEAT-HF) Randomized Clinical Trial.
IMPORTANCE It remains unclear whether telemonitoring approaches provide benefits for patients with heart failure ( HF ) after hospitalization . OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a care transition intervention using remote patient monitoring in reducing 180-day all-cause readmissions among a broad population of older adults hospitalized with HF . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS We r and omized 1437 patients hospitalized for HF between October 12 , 2011 , and September 30 , 2013 , to the intervention arm ( 715 patients ) or to the usual care arm ( 722 patients ) of the Better Effectiveness After Transition-Heart Failure ( BEAT-HF ) study and observed them for 180 days . The date s of our study analysis were March 30 , 2014 , to October 1 , 2015 . The setting was 6 academic medical centers in California . Participants were hospitalized individuals 50 years or older who received active treatment for decompensated HF . INTERVENTIONS The intervention combined health coaching telephone calls and telemonitoring . Telemonitoring used electronic equipment that collected daily information about blood pressure , heart rate , symptoms , and weight . Central ized registered nurses conducted telemonitoring review s , protocol ized actions , and telephone calls . MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was readmission for any cause within 180 days after discharge . Secondary outcomes were all-cause readmission within 30 days , all-cause mortality at 30 and 180 days , and quality of life at 30 and 180 days . RESULTS Among 1437 participants , the median age was 73 years . Overall , 46.2 % ( 664 of 1437 ) were female , and 22.0 % ( 316 of 1437 ) were African American . The intervention and usual care groups did not differ significantly in readmissions for any cause 180 days after discharge , which occurred in 50.8 % ( 363 of 715 ) and 49.2 % ( 355 of 722 ) of patients , respectively ( adjusted hazard ratio , 1.03 ; 95 % CI , 0.88 - 1.20 ; P = .74 ) . In secondary analyses , there were no significant differences in 30-day readmission or 180-day mortality , but there was a significant difference in 180-day quality of life between the intervention and usual care groups . No adverse events were reported . CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among patients hospitalized for HF , combined health coaching telephone calls and telemonitoring did not reduce 180-day readmissions . TRIAL REGISTRATION clinical trials.gov Identifier : NCT01360203
Overall , telemedicine was shown to be beneficial , with home-based teletransmission effectively reducing all-cause mortality and HF-related hospital admission , length of stay and mortality in patients with HF
Telemedicine interventions may be associated with reductions in hospital admission rate and mortality in patients with heart failure ( HF ) .