Telemonitoring for patients with COPD: effects are uncertain
Citation: Kruse C, Pesek B, Anderson M, Brennan K, Comfort H. Telemonitoring to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: systematic literature review. JMIR Medical Informatics 2019; 7(1): e11496
What is this? The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a great strain on health systems, affecting routine health and social care for people with other conditions. Ways to deliver this care remotely might include telemonitoring for conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of the use of telemonitoring to manage patients with COPD. They restricted their search to articles published in English from 1 February 2011 to 1 February 2017. They identified 29 eligible studies.
What works: Nothing noted.
What doesn’t work: Nothing noted.
What’s uncertain: The effects of telemonitoring for patients with COPD are uncetain. Although some studies reported that telemonitoring for patients with COPD reduced the need for in-person visits, improved disease management and bolstered patient-provider relationship; other studies did not find benefits, and important barriers included low-quality data, increased workload for providers and cost.