Continuous Remote Patient Monitoring in Patients With Heart Failure (Cascade Study): Protocol for a Mixed Methods...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Health Informatics
• Cardiology

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of hospitalization and readmission in the US.
• Continuous remote patient monitoring (CRPM) offers a potential strategy to prevent HF readmissions.
• Effective post-discharge monitoring is crucial for managing chronic HF patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a CRPM solution for heart failure patients.
• To evaluate the integration of wearable biosensors and telephonic management for HF care.
• To gather data for optimizing CRPM protocols in high-risk patient populations.

Main Methods:

• A feasibility study involving wearable biosensors for continuous remote monitoring of HF patients post-discharge.
• Data collection included physiological ambulatory data and daily patient surveys.
• A phased approach (3 phases) with increasing patient enrollment (5, 15, 45) to refine the CRPM program.
• Semistructured interviews with stakeholders to assess technology acceptance.

Main Results:

• In phase 1, 40% of 5 patients were readmitted within 30 days.
• Phase 1 achieved an 80% study completion rate with a 20% attrition rate.
• Protocol deviations occurred, prompting study adjustments for subsequent phases.

Conclusions:

• CRPM presents a low-risk approach to enhance post-discharge care for HF patients.
• CRPM may significantly decrease hospital readmission rates for heart failure.
• The developed protocol could serve as a foundation for CRPM in other high-risk patient groups.