a Home Hospitalization Unit , Torrejón University Hospital, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria , Madrid , Spain.
b Nurse and healthcare manager , Torrejón University Hospital , Madrid , Spain.
Expert Rev Respir Med. 2018 Apr;12(4):335-343. doi: 10.1080/17476348.2018.1442214. Epub 2018 Feb 21.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major consumer of healthcare resources, with most costs related to disease exacerbations. Telemonitoring of patients with COPD may help to reduce the number of exacerbations and/or the related costs. On the other hand, home hospitalization is a cost-saving alternative to inpatient hospitalization associated with increased comfort for patients. The results are reported regarding using telemonitoring and home hospitalization for the management of patients with COPD.
Twenty-eight patients monitored their health parameters at home for six months. A nurse remotely revised the collected parameters and followed the patients as programmed. A home care unit was dispatched to the patients' home if an alarm signal was detected. The outcomes were compared to historical data from the same patients.
The number of COPD exacerbations during the study period did not reduce but the number of hospital admissions decreased by 60% and the number of emergency room visits by 38%. On average, costs related to utilization of healthcare resources were reduced by €1,860.80 per patient per year.
Telemonitoring of patients with COPD combined with home hospitalization may allow for a reduction in healthcare costs, although its usefulness in preventing exacerbations is still unclear.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是医疗保健资源的主要消耗者，大多数费用与疾病恶化有关。对 COPD 患者进行远程监测可能有助于减少恶化的次数和/或相关费用。另一方面，家庭住院治疗是一种节省成本的替代住院治疗的方法，可提高患者的舒适度。本文报告了使用远程监测和家庭住院治疗来管理 COPD 患者的结果。
28 名患者在家中监测了六个月的健康参数。护士远程复查收集的参数，并按计划对患者进行随访。如果检测到警报信号，将派遣家庭护理单元到患者家中。将结果与同一患者的历史数据进行比较。
在研究期间，COPD 恶化的次数没有减少，但住院人数减少了 60%，急诊就诊次数减少了 38%。平均而言，每位患者每年与医疗资源利用相关的费用减少了 1860.80 欧元。
COPD 患者的远程监测与家庭住院相结合可能有助于降低医疗成本，尽管其在预防恶化方面的有效性仍不清楚。
