Development and implementation of a remote patient monitoring program for heart failure: a single-centre experience.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) in the management of heart failure (HF), including telemonitoring, thoracic impedance, implantable pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) monitors, and cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED)-based sensors, has had varying outcomes in single platform studies. Uncertainty remains regarding the development of single-centre RPM programs; additionally, no studies examine the effectiveness of dual platform RPM programs for HF. This study describes the implementation and outcomes of a dual platform RPM program for HF at a single centre. METHODS AND RESULTS: An RPM program was developed to include two platforms (e.g. CardioMEMS™ HF System and HeartLogic™ HF Diagnostic). To examine changes within each participant over time, study-related outcomes including total hospitalizations (TH), total length of stay (TLOS), cardiac hospitalizations (CH), cardiac LOS (CLOS), and cardiac-related emergency department (ED) visits were compared in two timeframes 12 months pre-enrolment and post-enrolment into RPM. For 141 participants enrolled, there was a significant reduction in the likelihood of experiencing a CH by 19% (0.77 vs. 0.61 events/patient-year; HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.97, P = 0.03) and a cardiac-related ED visit by 28% (0.48 vs. 0.34 events/patient-year; HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.55-0.93, P = 0.01). There was also a 51% decrease (SE = 1.41, 95% CI 2.79-8.38 days, P < 0.001) and 62% decrease (SE = 1.24, 95% CI 3.35-8.22 days, P < 0.001) in TLOS and CLOS, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A dual platform RPM program for HF using structured education, RPM-capable devices, and alert-specific medication titration reduces the likelihood of experiencing a cardiac hospitalization and cardiac-related ED visit in this single-centre study.