Where are we with telehealth in COPD?
Potential of telehealth
From the talk by Rebecca Disler, Australia, it became clear that telehealth has the potential to add new aspects to care. It can replace or supplement usual care and add the opportunity of longitudinal monitoring of e.g. symptoms. Obviously, an opportunity for telehealth is easier access where distance to health care is a problem1.
Promising examples exist
Even though data is limited comparing telehealth to usual care, there are promising examples that fuel our interest: In a study by Al Rajeh et al., telehealth was used to collect continuous data rather than single measurements of heartrate and oxygen saturation for early detection of exacerbations2. Another example given was the use of telehealth for patient education to prepare for an upcoming conversation about palliative care3.
Is telehealth a good fit for the patient, too?
Professor Disler underlines that more research needs to be performed to draw conclusions if telehealth is superior to usual care, however, from current data, telehealth does not seem to put the caretaker at risk, neither. She also speculates that future research will meet a generation of people 60+ years of age with more natural digital habits and thereby, less anxiety towards use of technology. While there is research published on “Ux”, i.e. usability and user satisfaction of digital solutions, the probably most important question is understudied:
What is the patient´s perspective on telehealth?
Recommended reading
Janjua S et al, 2021. Telehealth interventions: remote monitoring and consultations in COPD. Cochrane. Jul 20;7(7):CD013196
Janjua S et al, 2021. Digital interventions for the management of COPD. Cochrane. Apr 19;4(4):CD013246.
Written by
Barbara Fuchs
Medical Manager Chiesi Nordic
References
- WHO 2010. Telemedicine: Opportunities and development in member states: report on the Second Global Survey on eHealth. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/44497
- Al Rajeh AM, et al. 2020. One daily vs overnight physiological monitoring in COPD. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. Nov; 8(11): e17597.
- Iyer AS et al. 2023. Project EPIC (Early Palliative Care in COPD). JnIPain Sym Mgt. Apr;65(4):335-347.e3.
ID 7353 07-03-2024