Tele-monitoring of ventilator-dependent patients: a European Respiratory Society Statement

Abstract

The estimated prevalence of ventilator-dependent individuals in Europe is 6.6 per 100 000 people. The increasing number and costs of these complex patients make present health organisations largely insufficient to face their needs. As a consequence, their burden lays mostly over families. The need to reduce healthcare costs and to increase safety has prompted the development of tele-monitoring for home ventilatory assistance.

A Remote Patient Monitoring Intervention for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Heart Failure: Pre-Post Economic Analysis of the Smart Program (Preprint)

“…Among COPD patients, evidence was also inconclusive where RPM was found to be an economically attractive option in some studies but not in others [6,[18][19][20][21][22][23]. A number of studies also reported the need for more research [24,25].…”

Long-Term Ventilation in Neuromuscular Patients: Review of Concerns, Beliefs, and Ethical Dilemmas

“…Further improvement and research is needed before considering telemonitoring a real advancement at the service of patients with NMD on HMV [101, 109]. …”

“…Thus, ideally, telehealth could be a key strategy in the management of HMV patients, representing a way for increasing health care access to these patients with special needs who are usually highly unfavorable to hospitalization, in an effort of providing more personalized care [101]. However, in a recent study published by Chatwin et al [102], the addition of telemonitoring to standard care did not lengthen the time to the next acute hospital admission and did not improve HRQOL of chronic respiratory patients.…”

“…Recent advantages in telecommunications technology allowed the development of telemedicine modalities in an effort to promote patient care, increase safety, decrease health care costs, and burden of patients’ travel [101]. …”

The role of telemedicine and mobile health in the monitoring of sleep-breathing disorders: improving patient outcomes

“…Indeed, Ambrosino et al explained that the following four concepts must be considered before using technology for follow-up or to improve treatment: 1) it should improve access and reduce cost; 2) it should be suitable for care of chronic conditions (including global health status); 3) it should maintain contact with a reference hospital; and 4) it should provide education. 2 Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), in terms of both patient characteristics and the processes applied, probably represents a clinical area were telemedicine could 2 Villanueva et al play a pivotal role. 3 In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), for example, there is scope for assistance in ensuring adequate treatment, including sleep hygiene and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compliance, the latter of which is an essential component of effective treatment.…”