Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
IMPROV-ED trial: eHealth programme for faster recovery and reduced healthcare utilisation after CABG
G J van Steenbergen1, D van Veghel2, J Ter Woorst2
1Catharina Heart Center, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. gijs.v.steenbergen@catharinaziekenhuis.nl.
Insights
This study investigates an eHealth program
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Digital Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- High unplanned healthcare utilization post-coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
- eHealth interventions proposed to enhance patient recovery and reduce costs.
- Need for evidence on eHealth effectiveness in CABG patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate eHealth program's impact on unplanned healthcare utilization in CABG patients.
- Assess improvements in mental and physical health within 6 weeks post-discharge.
- Examine patient satisfaction and program engagement.
Main Methods:
- Single-center randomized controlled trial with at least 280 CABG patients.
- Intervention group: eHealth program with educational videos and virtual consultations.
- Control group: standard care. Primary endpoint: healthcare utilization.
Main Results:
- Patient enrollment initiated February 2020.
- Follow-up completion anticipated August 2021.
- Data collection ongoing for primary and secondary endpoints.
Conclusions:
- Hypothesis: eHealth program reduces unplanned care and improves patient outcomes.
- Testing benefits for quality of life, anxiety, and recovery speed.
- Trial aims to validate eHealth's role in post-CABG recovery.
Background:
After coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), healthcare utilisation is high and is partly unplanned. eHealth applications have been proposed to reduce healthcare consumption and to enable patients to get actively involved in their recovery. This way, healthcare expenses can be reduced and the quality of care can be improved.
Objectives:
We aim to evaluate whether the use of an eHealth programme can reduce unplanned healthcare utilisation and improve mental and physical health in the first 6 weeks after discharge in patients who underwent CABG. In addition, patient satisfaction and use of the eHealth programme will be evaluated.
Methods:
For this single-centre randomised controlled trial, at least 280 patients referred for CABG will be included at the preoperative outpatient clinic and randomised to an intervention or control group. The intervention group will have access to an eHealth programme, which consists of online educational videos developed by the Dutch Heart Foundation and postoperative video consultations with a physician. The control group will receive standard care and will not have access to the eHealth programme. The primary endpoint is healthcare utilisation; other endpoints include anxiety, duration of recovery, quality of life and patient satisfaction. Participants will complete several questionnaires at 6 time points during the study.
Results:
Patient enrolment started in February 2020 and completion of the follow-up period is expected in August 2021.
Conclusion:
This randomised trial was initiated to test the hypothesis that patients who are partaking in our eHealth programme use less unplanned care and experience a better quality of life, less anxiety and a faster recovery than controls.
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