Telemedicine Facilitates CHF Home Health Care for Those with Systolic Dysfunction

An estimated 5 million Americans have congestive heart failure (CHF) and one in five over the age of 40 will develop CHF. There are numerous examples of CHF patients living beyond the years normally expected for people with the disease, usually attributed to taking an active role in disease management. A relatively new alternative for CHF outpatient care is telemedicine and e-health. We investigated the effects of a 6-week in-home telemedicine education and monitoring program for those with systolic dysfunction on the utilization of health care resources. We also measured the effects of the unit 4.5 months after its removal (a total of 6 months post introduction of the unit into the home). Concurrently, we assessed participants' perceptions of the value of having a telemedicine unit. Participants in the telemedicine group reported weighing more times a week with less variability than did the control group. Telemedicine led to a reduction in physician and emergency department visits and those in the experimental group reported the unit facilitating self-care, though this was not significantly different from the control group (possibly due to small sample size). These findings suggest a possibility for improvement in control of CHF when telemedicine is implemented. Our review of the literature also supports the role of telemedicine in facilitating home health care and self-management for CHF patients. There are many challenges still to be addressed before this potential can be reached and further research is needed to identify opportunities in telemedicine

Age Makes a Difference

Considering the numerous adverse effects of sleep disorders, it is important [sic] to properly assess sleep problems in all age groups

Telemedicine Research: Opportunities and Challenges

Telemedicine is emerging as an effective tool that can potentially enhance the ability to provide quality health care in hospitals, professional offices, and homes. Applications have demonstrated success in a wide range of disciplines and are particularly important for rural communities in hopes of advancing health care practices to these areas that may not have the same advantages, resources, or specialists. Research into this exciting field has led to challenges rather unique to telemedicine. The demands for appropriate research methods and tools for each application have become more complex because of the variety of fields involved and issues specific to telemedicine. Telemedicine research commonly encompasses various sites and review boards, which introduces more challenges. Adding to the complexity of telemedicine research are the ethical and legal issues associated with the use of technology, enrolling participants, transmitting data, confidentiality, and licensing. Illuminating perceptions and level of satisfaction could help identify methods of facilitating acceptance of telemedicine and expedite the transition from using solely traditional methods of health care to including telemedicine. Despite all the challenges, telemedicine presents many opportunities and brings such promise to the increasing shortage of health care providers. Accordingly, it is vital for researchers to address and overcome these challenges