Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR (the professional society for health economics and outcomes research), announced the publication of a study demonstrating that both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring are cost-effective solutions in managing chronic heart failure. The report, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Telehealth: A Comparison Between Home Telemonitoring, Nurse Telephone Support, and Usual Care in Chronic Heart Failure Management, was published in the July 2018 issue of Value in Health.
This modeling study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring for managing patients with chronic heart failure, compared with usual care. Usual care comprised a patient management plan which, upon discharge from hospital, was sent to the patient’s primary care physician, who was asked to implement it. Nurse telephone support was managed as described for usual care except that patients were contacted by telephone each month by a specialist heart failure nurse to assess their symptoms and current medication. Patients on home telemonitoring received all necessary equipment and were asked to take measurements on a set schedule, thus monitoring and automatically reporting the patient’s weight, blood pressure, and heart rate and rhythm twice daily.
Study results demonstrated that both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring improved the survival of patients in all classes of heart failure and were cost-effective in comparison with usual care. Furthermore, nurse telephone support surpassed home telemonitoring in all but the most severe cases of heart failure.
“Technological evolution and new methods of providing telemonitoring have significantly improved the cost-effectiveness of providing these services to a broader range of chronically ill patients,” said lead author Andrija Grustam, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. “Consequently, we advise governments and other organizations to consider both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring as viable solutions to support patients with chronic heart failure.”
ABOUT ISPOR
ISPOROpens external, the professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field.
ABOUT VALUE IN HEALTH
Value in HealthOpens external (ISSN 1098-3015) is an international, indexed journal that publishes original research and health policy articles that advance the field of health economics and outcomes research to help healthcare leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal’s 2016 impact factor score is 4.235. Value in Health is ranked 3rd out of 77 journals in health policy and services, 7th out of 347 journals in economics, and 9th out of 90 journals in healthcare sciences and services. Value in Health is a monthly publication that circulates to more than 10,000 readers around the world.
