A review on remote monitoring technology applied to implantable electronic cardiovascular devices

Assessment of Patients' Perception of Telemedicine Services Using the Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire

Introduction:

The purpose of this paper is to assess if similar telemedicine services integrated in the management of different chronic diseases are acceptable and well perceived by patients or if there are any negative perceptions.

Theory and methods:

Participants suffering from different chronic diseases were enrolled in Veneto Region and gathered into clusters. Each cluster received a similar telemedicine service equipped with different disease-specific measuring devices. Participants were patients with diabetes (n = 163), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n = 180), congestive heart failure (n = 140) and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (n = 1635). The Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire (SUTAQ) was initially translated, culturally adapted and pretested and subsequently used to assess patients’ perception of telemedicine. Data were collected after 3 months and after 12 months from the beginning of the intervention. Data for patients with implantable devices was collected only at 12 months.

Results:

Results at 12 months for all clusters are similar and assessed a positive perception of telemedicine. The SUTAQ results for clusters 2 (diabetes), 5 (COPD) and 7 (CHF) after 3 months of intervention were confirmed after 12 months.

Conclusions:

Telemedicine was perceived as a viable addition to usual care. A positive perception for telemedicine services isn’t a transitory effect, but extends over the course of time.

Large Controlled Observational Study on Remote Monitoring of Pacemakers and Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators: A Clinical, Economic, and Organizational Evaluation

Background

Patients with implantable devices such as pacemakers (PMs) and implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) should be followed up every 3–12 months, which traditionally required in-clinic visits. Innovative devices allow data transmission and technical or medical alerts to be sent from the patient's home to the physician (remote monitoring). A number of studies have shown its effectiveness in timely detection and management of both clinical and technical events, and endorsed its adoption. Unfortunately, in daily practice, remote monitoring has been implemented in uncoordinated and rather fragmented ways, calling for a more strategic approach.

Objective

The objective of the study was to analyze the impact of remote monitoring for PM and ICD in a “real world” context compared with in-clinic follow-up. The evaluation focuses on how this service is carried out by Local Health Authorities, the impact on the cardiology unit and the health system, and organizational features promoting or hindering its effectiveness and efficiency.

Methods

A multi-center, multi-vendor, controlled, observational, prospective study was conducted to analyze the impact of remote monitoring implementation. A total of 2101 patients were enrolled in the study: 1871 patients were followed through remote monitoring of PM/ICD (I-group) and 230 through in-clinic visits (U-group). The follow-up period was 12 months.

Results

In-clinic device follow-ups and cardiac visits were significantly lower in the I-group compared with the U-group, respectively: PM, I-group = 0.43, U-group = 1.07, P<.001; ICD, I-group = 0.98, U-group = 2.14, P<.001. PM, I-group = 0.37, U-group = 0.85, P<.001; ICD, I-group = 1.58, U-group = 1.69, P=.01. Hospitalizations for any cause were significantly lower in the I-group for PM patients only (I-group = 0.37, U-group = 0.50, P=.005). There were no significant differences regarding use of the emergency department for both PM and ICD patients. In the I-group, 0.30 (PM) and 0.37 (ICD) real clinical events per patient per year were detected within a mean (SD) time of 1.18 (2.08) days. Mean time spent by physicians to treat a patient was lower in the I-group compared to the U-group (-4.1 minutes PM; -13.7 minutes ICD). Organizational analysis showed that remote monitoring implementation was rather haphazard and fragmented. From a health care system perspective, the economic analysis showed statistically significant gains (P<.001) for the I-group using PM.

Conclusions

This study contributes to build solid evidence regarding the usefulness of RM in detecting and managing clinical and technical events with limited use of manpower and other health care resources. To fully gain the benefits of RM of PM/ICD, it is vital that organizational processes be streamlined and standardized within an overarching strategy.

[Remote monitoring for follow-up of patients with implantable cardiac devices]

With a widening of indications for cardiac devices, especially in view of the clinical benefits of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy, the number of patients with such devices is growing steadily. However, the resources required, and the need for long-term regular interrogation in dedicated clinics, represent a significant burden for already overstretched electrophysiology teams and hospital services. Remote telemonitoring is increasingly used for such follow-up, as it is a safe and effective alternative to conventional follow-up programs in outpatient clinics. This technology has been shown to be technically reliable, enabling early identification of device malfunction, arrhythmic events and heart failure decompensation, while reducing the risk of under-reporting, the number of outpatient clinic visits and hospitalizations due to cardiac events, and healthcare costs. Further studies are needed to determine how best to implement this new technology in a cost-effective manner, and what new legislation governing the use of remote monitoring in clinical practice may be required. In this article, we describe current systems, review the technical and clinical evidence in the literature regarding remote monitoring of implantable cardiac devices, and expand on outstanding questions.

Legal Bases for Medical Supervision via Mobile Telecommunications in Japan

This paper discusses the legal basis for mobile telecommunications-based medical supervision in Japan and bulletin from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. According to Article 44 of the Emergency Life-Saving Technician’s Act, an emergency technician shall not perform certain emergency medical procedures unless specifically authorized to do so by a medical practitioner. Actual conditions make these requirements unwieldy to put into practice. When requested to provide medical control in response to an ambulance call, a licensed physician has no choice but to allow the emergency technician to administer medical care. These circumstances expose medical practitioners to significant legal risks and societal ramifications. Is a mobile telecommunications environment characterized by insufficient information satisfactory for the medical care needed in ambulances? This paper discusses such medical care and its legal ramifications, including: how to implement such medical care under Article 21 of the Basic Act on Establishing a Networked Society Based on Advanced Information and Telecommunications. The Japanese government is obligated to provide citizens with broadband telecommunication lines in the near future to enable the smooth implementation of medical control over medical supervision provided in ambulances.