Evaluating IoT-Based Services to Support Patient Empowerment in Digital Home Hospitalization Services

Abstract

Hospitals need to optimize patient care, as, among other factors, life expectancy has increased due to improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and medicines. Hospitalization-at-home (HaH) could increase admission efficiency, moderate costs, and reduce the demand for beds. This study aimed to provide data on the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the integration of IoT-based technology to support the remote monitoring and follow-up of patients admitted to HaH units, as well as the acceptability of IoT-based solutions in healthcare processes. The need for a reduction in the number of admission days, the percentage of admissions after discharge, and the actions of the emergency services during admission were the most relevant findings of this study. Furthermore, in terms of patient safety and trust perception, 98% of patients preferred this type of digitally-supported hospitalization model and up to 95% were very satisfied. On the professional side, the results showed a reduction in work overload and an increase in trust when the system was adopted.

Six-Lead Electrocardiography Enables Identification of Rhythm and Conduction Anomalies of Patients in the Telemedicine-Based, Hospital-at-Home Setting: A Prospective Validation Study

“…Increasing the safety belt for HAH patients is a worldwide challenge and demand. Future tasks for the HAH world include maintaining patients in their home environment without jeopardizing their health [29][30][31][32], bearing in mind that novel infrastructures and technologies, such as the IoT (internet of things), must be evaluated and adopted [33,34] for this purpose. Nevertheless, current HAH practices do not include reliable, validated means for patients' deterioration detection and prediction [35].…”

6-Lead Electrocardiography is a Viable Option for Identification of Rhythm and Conduction Anomalies of Patients in the Telemedicine-Based, Hospital-at-Home Setting. A Prospective Validation Study

“…Increasing the safety belt for HAH patients is a worldwide challenge and demand. Future tasks for the HAH world would include maintaining patients in their home environment without jeopardizing their health [30][31][32][33] bearing in mind that novel infrastructures and technologies, such as IoT (Internet of Things) must be evaluated and adopted [34,35] for this purpose. Nevertheless, current HAH practices still do not include reliable, validated means for patients' deterioration detection and prediction [36].…”