The Martini Hospital begins remote monitoring for patients with COPD and heart failure

Patients with COPD or heart failure receive a tablet at home, on which they transmit medical information about their condition to the hospital on a daily or weekly basis. In case of exceeding an individually defined threshold value, the hospital will contact the patient by video call. For example, medications can be adjusted at an early stage to ultimately prevent hospitalization. In addition, it increases the degree of self-management, the feeling of security and the quality of life of patients.

Hans Feenstra, President of the Martini Hospital: "These projects are a good example of" Good care in the right place ". We believe that care should in principle be organized as close as possible to the patient and we therefore work actively for him. "

These projects are patients who are already under treatment by the hospital, not moving care to GP (substitution) .These effective care is not only good for patients, they also reduce the costs of care because urgent admissions are avoided and fewer outpatient visits are needed Feenstra: "We are building on the long-term agreements we have with Menzis and Zilveren Kruis. close to the patient. "Both projects start with a small group of patients to gain experience with this new way of working.In collaboration with FocusCura, there is also scientific research on the results. of Remote Monitoring

Prevention of Pulmonary Attacks

COPD is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged. not a good breath and the patient has less energy. COPD is characterized by pulmonary attacks, in which the patient experiences more congestion, coughing or mucus production that often results in hospitalization. We want to prevent these pulmonary attacks by more frequent controls. Patients with many symptoms of COPD complete a questionnaire about how they feel each week. A specialized nurse then monitors the results at the hospital. If these results exceed certain threshold values, the nurse will communicate with the patient by video call. For example, it literally understands how the patient behaves and can, for example, adjust the medication. This can possibly prevent a lung attack. Especially for patients with COPD, the trip to the hospital is an entire undertaking because it often requires significant physical effort. For them, therefore, this type of distance care is very appropriate.

Drug adjustment

Heart failure is a condition in which the pumping function of the heart decreases slowly or abruptly. As a result, patients get tired more quickly, retain moisture and breathlessness in their daily activities. Patients with heart failure daily spend their weight, blood pressure and heart rate via the tablet. For this they have not only the tablet, but also a blood pressure monitor and a scale. This type of care is particularly suitable for patients who have just been diagnosed with heart failure and for patients who are in an unstable phase of their condition. In both groups, the drug must be properly adjusted or reset. And when this normally happens over a period of eight weeks through a series of visits to the outpatient clinic, it is expected that this can now be done in a few fonts in just a few weeks. The introduction of the drug and the explanation of the clinical picture and lifestyle now occur via the image connection, the patient no longer needs to come to the clinic. ;hospital. It is also expected that emergency admissions will be avoided. In addition, the patient is actively involved in the care process through this form of remote monitoring. Research shows that more control for the patient increases the quality of life of patients with heart failure.