European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing 11(4) 410–418 © The European Society of Cardiology 2012 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2011.02.003 cnu.sagepub.com EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY ® Introduction Heart failure (HF) has a high prevalence, a poor prognosis and a high rate of hospital readmission 1,2 . Patient compli- ance with recommendations regarding lifestyle changes, Evaluation of a telemedicine system for heart failure patients: feasibility, acceptance rate, satisfaction and changes in patient behavior: results from the CARME (CAtalan Remote Management Evaluation) study Mar Domingo, 1 ,2 ,3 Josep Lupón, 1,4 Beatriz González, 1 Eva Crespo, 1 Raúl López, 1 Anna Ramos, 1 Agustàn Urrutia, 1,4 Guillem Pera, 3 José Ma Verdú 4 ,5 and Antoni Bayes-Genis 1,4 Abstract Background: Telemedicine can be useful for managing heart failure (HF), but patient acceptance of telemedicine and its impact on patient behavior are unclear. Aims: To assess a telemedicine program in a HF Unit. Methods and results: This sub-analysis of the CARME study assessed the use of an interactive telemedicine platform. This prospective intervention study had a before/after design with HF patients randomized 1:1 into two groups: A) Motiva system (educational videos, motivational messages, and questionnaires); and B) Motiva system + telemonitoring of blood pressure, heart rate and weight. Of 211 patients screened, 44 were excluded, 62 did not consent to participate and 8 withdrew consent prior to installation of the system. The final study population included 97 patients. During 1 year of follow-up, 22 patients voluntarily discontinued use of the system, 5 died (three after early discontinuation) and 5 with- drew consent before the last evaluation. A total of 15,017 questionnaires were sent to patients, with a median response rate of 88%. Satisfaction with the system and tools was high (median score 8.4/10), especially with the self-monitoring chart, scale and sphygmomanometer. Positive changes were observed in patient behavior, especially for blood pressure and weight control (p < 0.001). After the study, 65% of the patients wished to continue with telemonitoring, particularly those in Group B (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Less than half of our patients participated in the telemedicine study. However, those who completed the study had confidence in the system, a high degree of satisfaction with the tools and positive behavioral changes. Keywords Heart failure, information and communication technologies, disease management, telemonitoring, telemedicine, behavior, satisfaction Received 19 November 2010; revised 8 February 2011; revised manuscript accepted 9 February 2011 3 Unitat de Suport a la Recerca Metropolitana Nord, Institut d’Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol, Institut Català de la Salut, Spain 4 Departament de Medicina de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 5 Equipo de Atención Primaria Sant Martí de Provençals, Institut Català de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain Corresponding author: Josep Lupón, Unitat d’Insuficiència Cardíaca, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain Email: jlupon.germanstrias@gencat.cat 37216CNU 11 4 10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2011.02.003Domingo et al.European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing Original Article 1 Unitat d’Insuficiència Cardíaca, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain 2 Equipo de Atención Primaria Sant Roc, Institut Català de la Salut, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/eurjcn/article/11/4/410/5931771 by guest on 27 March 2023