Impact of patient-centred home telehealth programme on outcomes in heart failure

Telehealth is a promising intervention to reduce readmissions and healthcare-associated costs in patients with heart failure.

We performed a retrospective analysis of the impact of telehealth on 197 heart failure patients who had successfully completed one year of home telehealth monitoring following a heart failure admission as part of a clinically mandated programme at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Outcomes were compared both within the group (one year before and one year after home telehealth monitoring), and to a contemporary control cohort of 870 heart failure patients who were admitted but not enrolled in home telehealth. The following outcomes were analysed: admissions for any cause, heart failure admissions, total hospital days per patient, average length of stay per admission, urgent care and emergency room visits, and primary care visits.

Both the home telehealth and control cohorts consisted of older male patients. Total hospital days per patient was significantly reduced by home telehealth monitoring in the home telehealth group (2.4 ± 3.5) in comparison to the previous year without monitoring (4.1 ± 4.6, p < 0.0001) and to the control group (3.8 ± 5.3, p < 0.001). A significantly lower admission rate (1.1 ± 1.6) and length of stay (5.7 ± 11.3 days) were observed during home telehealth monitoring within the home telehealth group compared to the prior year (1.6 ± 1.7, p < 0.05 and 9.5 ± 14 days, p < 0.01 respectively) but not in comparison with the control group (1.4 ± 2.0, p < 0.07). The home telehealth group also had a significantly lower length of stay when compared to the control group (5.7 ± 11.3 vs 9.0 ± 14.9, p < 0.01). The number of urgent care and emergency room visits, or primary care visits, was not significantly different during home telehealth monitoring as compared to the prior year.

Personalised and patient-centred home telehealth monitoring in heart failure patients was successful in reducing outcomes without an increase in outpatient and urgent care visits.