Patient quality of life and satisfaction with home telemonitoring were similar or better than with usual care .
We conducted a systematic review of the literature about home telemonitoring compared with usual care .
Pilot study of a Web-based compliance monitoring device for patients with congestive heart failure.
BACKGROUND Web-based home care monitoring systems can assess medication compliance , health status , quality of life , and physiologic parameters . They may help overcome some of the limitations associated with current congestive heart failure management models . OBJECTIVES This pilot study compared the effects of a self-care and medication compliance device , linked to a Web-based monitoring system , to the effects of usual care alone on compliance with recommended self-care behaviors ; medication taking ; quality of life ; distance walked during a 6-minute walk test ; and New York Heart Association Functional Class . We also assessed patient experiences living with the compliance device . METHODS We enrolled 18 patients with Functional Class II-III congestive heart failure in an urban VA Medical Center . The patients were r and omized into 2 groups . Group A received usual care plus the compliance device . Group B ( controls ) received usual care only . Data were collected using the compliance device , the Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale , pill counts , 6-minute walk test , and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Question naire at baseline and at 3 months follow-up . RESULTS At baseline and at 3 months , there were no differences between the compliance device group and the usual care group in self-care behaviors , pill counts , 6-minute walk-test distance , or Functional Class . However , quality of life improved significantly from baseline to 3-month follow-up ( ANOVA , P = .006 ) . This difference was due to an improvement in quality of life for the monitor group ( P = .002 ) but not the usual care only group ( P = .113 ) . Patients in the compliance device group had a 94 % medication compliance rate , 81 % compliance with daily blood pressure monitoring , and 85 % compliance with daily weight monitoring as compared to 51 % for blood pressure monitoring and 79 % for weight monitoring in the usual care group ( P = NS ) . CONCLUSION These are promising pilot results that , if replicated in a larger sample , may significantly improve care and outcomes for patients with heart failure
Patient quality of life and satisfaction with home telemonitoring were similar or better than with usual care .
We conducted a systematic review of the literature about home telemonitoring compared with usual care .