Fulfilling the Promise of Telemonitoring in Heart Failure

At least in theory, heart failure (HF) would be a prototypical condition in which telemonitoring, the remote observation of patients by using a suite of information technologies, would be highly beneficial. HF has an undulating disease course, traditionally characterized by stepwise worsening in clinical status. These “steps” often are accompanied by clinical events such as hospitalizations, which might be preceded by harbingers of decompensation that could be uncovered by telemonitoring. Most of patients’ experiences are lived outside of health care settings, and telemonitoring may extend the reach of health care resources, especially for the segment of the population at highest risk. Telemonitoring promises continuity of care by bridging the vulnerable transition from hospitalization to home. The population of those with HF is older, so familiarity and comfort are important, and adeptness with information technologies is rapidly increasing, in part borne out of necessity during the Coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Association Between Participation in a Heart Failure Telemonitoring Program and Health Care Utilization and Death Within an Integrated Health Care Delivery SystemJournal of Cardiac FailurePreviewThe clinical usefulness of remote telemonitoring to reduce postdischarge health care use and death in adults with heart failure (HF) remains controversial. Full-Text PDF