"Future patient II" telerehabilitation for patients with heart failure: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Heart failure is a global problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Current care of heart failure patients follows standard protocols and often overlooks the patients' specific needs, which leads to low compliance in the rehabilitation phase. Telerehabilitation, where the patients communicate with health care professionals about their rehabilitation program and monitor their vital signs, aims to increase the degree of compliance as well as enhancing their quality of life.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether application of the Future Patient Telerehabilitation Program II can improve the health-related quality of life for patients with heart failure.

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted. A total of 70 patients will be enrolled, 35 in the intervention group, 35 in the control group. The intervention group will follow an add-on to traditional care, while the control group will follow the conventional Danish cardiac rehabilitation program, which is based on periodic visits to the clinic. The patients will be followed for a period of six months. The intervention group will have access to an online HeartPortal and will use various home-based devices for self-monitoring. The primary outcome to be investigated is health-related quality of life as measured by the EuroQol-5 Dimension. Secondary outcomes are the number of visits to the outpatient clinic, number of readmissions and number of tele-communications contacts (phone and video) with health care professionals. The primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed using questionnaires and through the data generated by digital technologies for self-monitoring.

Enrolment began in August 2020. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Results from the Future Patient II Telerehabilitation program are expected to be published in 2024.

This study is a further development of the Future Patient Telerehabilitation I study, and it is expected to explore the use of video consultation and a weight calculator in relation to telerehabilitation as well as the quality of life for heart failure patients.

The expected outcomes are increased quality of life, increased number of phone- and video-consultations with health-care professionals, and the enhanced ability of patients to manage their own disease with the use of a calculator for weight.