Scaling-up digital follow-up care services: collaborative development and implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring pilot initiatives to increase access to follow-up care

Objective Prior research has not assessed the value of remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems for patients undergoing anticoagulation therapy after cardiac surgery. This study aims to assess whether the clinical follow-up through RPM yields comparable outcomes with the standard protocol. Methods A crossover trial assigned participants to SOC-RPM or RPM-SOC, starting with the standard of care (SOC) for the first 6 months after surgery and using RPM for the following 6 months, or vice-versa, respectively. During RPM, patients used the Coaguchek© to accurately measure International Normalized Ratio values and a mobile text-based chatbot to report PROs and adjust the therapeutic dosage. The study assessed patients’ and clinicians’ experience with RPM and compared direct costs. Results Twenty-seven patients participated. The median time in therapeutic range (TTR) levels during RPM were 72.2% and 50.6% for the SOC-RPM and RPM-SOC arms, respectively, and during SOC, they were 49.4% and 58.4% for SOC-RPM and RPM-SOC arms, respectively. Patients and the clinical team reported high trust and satisfaction with the proposed digital service. Statistically significant differences were only found in the cost of RPM in the RPM-SOC, which was higher than SOC in the SOC-RPM arm. Conclusions Portable coagulometers and chatbots can enhance the remote management of patients undergoing anticoagulation therapy, improving patient experience. This presents a promising alternative to the current standard procedure. The results of this study seem to suggest that RPM may have a higher value when initiated after a SOC period rather than starting RPM immediately after surgery. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06423521.

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Success factors of growth-stage digital health companies: A systematic literature review (Preprint)

Pfitzer,

Bitomsky,

Nissen

et al. 2024

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Digital health technologies (DHTs) have received increasing attention over the last decade, showcasing novel opportunities for the healthcare industry. This period has attracted substantial investment and revealed the challenges companies face in maintaining growth. However, to our knowledge, a systematic overview of the factors that drive success in growth-stage digital health companies is lacking, which limits our understanding of this important industry. OBJECTIVE This work identifies and discusses key factors that make growth-stage DHT companies successful. Specifically, we address three questions: (1) What are the success factors of growth-stage digital companies in general, and (2) digital health companies in particular? and (3) How do these success factors vary across DHTs. METHODS Following established PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature review was conducted to answer the questions. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using management and medical literature databases: EBSCO, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus and Web of Science. The review spanned scientific articles published from 2000 to 2023, employing a rigorous screening process and quality assessment using the CASP checklist. RESULTS Overall, 2,972 studies were screened, and 36 were included in the final analysis. We identified 52 success factors and categorized them into four internal factor categories (Product and Services, Operations, Business Models, and Team Composition), and six external factor categories (Customers, Healthcare Sytem, Government and Regulators, Investors and Shareholders, Suppliers and Partners and Competitors). Our findings reveal 19 success factors specific to growth-stage digital health companies. Also, success factors vary significantly across DHTs, highlighting each segment's unique challenges and opportunities. CONCLUSIONS Essential characteristics contributing to the success of growth-stage digital health companies have been identified. This work, therefore, fills a knowledge gap and provides relevant stakeholders, including investors and entrepreneurs, with a valuable resource that can support informed decision-making in investment decisions and, in turn, enhance the success of fast-growing digital health companies. Additionally, it provides the research community with a direction for future studies, enhancing the understanding, implementation, and growth of DHTs. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.06.24306674

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Scaling-up digital follow-up care services: collaborative development and implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring pilot initiatives to increase access to follow-up care

Cited by 3 publications

References 31 publications

A Risk Prediction Framework to Optimize Remote Patient Monitoring Following Cardiothoracic Surgery

A Risk Prediction Framework to Optimize Remote Patient Monitoring Following Cardiothoracic Surgery

Enhancing postoperative anticoagulation therapy with remote patient monitoring: A pilot crossover trial study to evaluate portable coagulometers and chatbots in cardiac surgery follow-up

Success factors of growth-stage digital health companies: A systematic literature review (Preprint)

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