Monitoring People With COVID-19 at Home With the COVIDFree@Home Program: Feasibility Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Telemedicine
• Infectious Disease Management

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote care for patients isolating at home.
• Clinician uncertainty existed regarding patient deterioration and hospitalization risk.
• The COVIDFree@Home app and dashboard were developed for remote monitoring and support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the feasibility of using a smartphone app and clinician dashboard for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients at home.
• To assess patient engagement and satisfaction with the remote monitoring system.

Main Methods:

• A feasibility study was conducted across three hospital sites from 2020 to 2022.
• Participants diagnosed with COVID-19 used the COVIDFree@Home app for twice-daily data entry (symptoms, oxygen saturation) for 10 days.
• Data were monitored via a clinician dashboard; feasibility was measured by app usage, and patient satisfaction was assessed via survey.

Main Results:

• Out of 431 recruited patients, 87.2% used the app at least once to report symptoms or oxygen saturation.
• High rates of symptom (99.2%) and oxygen saturation (96.5%) reporting were observed among app users.
• Most patients reported comfort using the app, felt reassured by data monitoring, and had no privacy concerns.

Conclusions:

• Patients with acute COVID-19 engaged with the remote monitoring platform, though not always at the recommended frequency.
• Remote patient monitoring for acute respiratory infections appears viable, offering patient reassurance and potential healthcare system benefits.
• Further research is needed to confirm improved health outcomes and system efficiencies with remote monitoring tools.