Use of structured self-monitoring in transplant education

A self-assessment instrument for use at home by transplant recipients was developed to help foster partnership between patients and their healthcare provider. Self-monitoring at home has not replaced the need for close follow-up but does allow patients to provide concrete data to their healthcare provider in order to promote earlier detection of and response to adverse events. Patients are taught the essentials of self-monitoring while they are in the hospital for their transplant. Patients who perform routine self-assessment would be able to detect and provide information about problems early in the course of events. Thus, early intervention could potentially decrease the severity of the problem and prevent repeated hospitalizations. The concern that patients would not be able to perform a reliable self-assessment was unfounded; patients exceeded expectations and embraced the opportunity to communicate physical signs and symptoms effectively.