Heart failure is a common, costly condition characterized by recurrent periods of clinical decompensation that often lead to rehospitalizations. Periodic, often infrequent, outpatient visits are the only usual opportunities for providers to detect and treat early signs of heart failure decompensation - this constitutes a major gap in the current medical model. Moreover, occasions for patients to take an active role in managing their own conditions are rare. Telemonitoring, which uses electronic and communication technology to bridge distances between physicians and patients, holds promise for closing the gap in heart failure care. However, little rigorous assessment of the effectiveness of telemonitoring has been conducted. We will examine a telemonitoring strategy that facilitates communication between patients and health care providers and the general education of patients about managing their conditions. This strategy uses the Health Buddy(r) system, which connects to conventional telephone lines and does not require Internet access. While many vendors have potential tools to implement this study, we have chosen to use the Health Buddy(r) system because it is representative of telemonitoring appliances currently available and preliminary data are available to suggest high patient and provider satisfaction with its use. We will determine whether use of this strategy for 6 months, added to usual medical care, reduces rates of all-cause readmission in patients who had been hospitalized for heart failure in the previous 30 days. We propose a multicenter, randomized controlled trial, recruiting 1,640 patients from community-based cardiology practices across the United States that are eager to participate. Providers from the local practice sites will review and act upon information from the telemonitoring appliances. If the intervention is effective, we will have implemented an economically attractive disease-management strategy that can be standardized, integrated into the current system of care, and deployed on a wide scale, with potential for dramatic improvements in outcomes of heart failure patients.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL080228-02
Application #
7070597
Study Section
Health Services Organization and Delivery Study Section (HSOD)
Program Officer
Cooper, Lawton S
Project Start
2005-07-01
Project End
2009-03-31
Budget Start
2006-04-01
Budget End
2007-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$2,014,503
Indirect Cost
Name
Yale University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Jayaram, Natalie M; Khariton, Yevgeniy; Krumholz, Harlan M et al. (2017) Impact of Telemonitoring on Health Status. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 10:
Mortazavi, Bobak J; Downing, Nicholas S; Bucholz, Emily M et al. (2016) Analysis of Machine Learning Techniques for Heart Failure Readmissions. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 9:629-640
Krumholz, Harlan M; Chaudhry, Sarwat I; Spertus, John A et al. (2016) Do Non-Clinical Factors Improve Prediction of Readmission Risk?: Results From the Tele-HF Study. JACC Heart Fail 4:12-20
Salim Al-Damluji, Mohammed; Dzara, Kristina; Hodshon, Beth et al. (2015) Association of discharge summary quality with readmission risk for patients hospitalized with heart failure exacerbation. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 8:109-11
Qian, Feng; Parzynski, Craig S; Chaudhry, Sarwat I et al. (2015) Racial Differences in Heart Failure Outcomes: Evidence From the Tele-HF Trial (Telemonitoring to Improve Heart Failure Outcomes). JACC Heart Fail 3:531-538
Al-Damluji, Mohammed Salim; Dzara, Kristina; Hodshon, Beth et al. (2015) Hospital variation in quality of discharge summaries for patients hospitalized with heart failure exacerbation. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 8:77-86
Bikdeli, Behnood; Wayda, Brian; Bao, Haikun et al. (2014) Place of residence and outcomes of patients with heart failure: analysis from the telemonitoring to improve heart failure outcomes trial. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 7:749-56
Chaudhry, Sarwat I; Herrin, Jeph; Phillips, Christopher et al. (2011) Racial disparities in health literacy and access to care among patients with heart failure. J Card Fail 17:122-7
Chaudhry, Sarwat I; Mattera, Jennifer A; Curtis, Jeptha P et al. (2010) Telemonitoring in patients with heart failure. N Engl J Med 363:2301-9
Phillips, Christopher O; Higginbotham, Eve J (2009) Multivitamin supplements, ageing, and loss of vision: seeing through the shadows. Arch Intern Med 169:1180-2

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