Economic assessment of telerehabilitation for heart failure patients

International studies show that measuring blood pressure, heart rate and weight in home monitoring of heart failure patients is not sufficient when it comes to mapping worsening in the development of symptoms and readmissions in these patients.

AIM

The project "Future Patient - Heart Failure" investigated whether monitoring several parameters, such as physical activity, blood pressure, sleep, nocturnal heart rate, heart rate, weight as well as questions about symptoms and well-being, could help to identify deteriorations at an earlier time, and thus teach the patients to manage their illness in a more individual and optimal way. This was done through a telerehabilitation programme for heart failure patients.

The Department of Cardiology at Regional Hospital Viborg and Skive and health centres in Randers, Viborg and Skive participated in a clinical study. CIMT's role was to make a health economic assessment of the project. The purpose of this was to estimate costs and quality of life for patients who received the telerehabilitation programme and for a control group, and to investigate the cost-effectiveness of offering Future Patient to patients with heart failure. Preliminary results showed higher average costs per patient for the group receiving telerehabilitation and no corresponding effect on quality of life. The final results are published in a scientific article.

PARTNERS

• Laboratory for Welfare Technology, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University

View other partners here.

EXTERNAL FUNDING

The project is financed by the Aage and Johanne Louis Hansen Foundation, Aalborg University Hospital and Viewcare.