by Susan Eustis

A December 2010 article describing a telehealth remote monitoring for heart failure patients concluded that telemonitoring did not improve patient outcomes.  The paper was written by Sarwat I. Chaudhry, M.D, and nine other authors.   It looked at telemonitoring in patients with heart failure.  The paper analyzed 1,653 CHF patients, 826 of whom participated in a remote health intervention:  This is I believe an aarticle that is a travesty for the entire healthcare delivery industry.  The study was deeply flawed, not looking at modern technology, instead using technology that is known to fail.  Following is a quote from the new WinterGreen Research market study on telemedicine.  The logic is accurate and indicates the need for a retraction of the article and attention to more modern research.  The paper seems to carry the prejudice of physicians that wish they could treat only those whom they see in person.  This attitude is outdated and not appropriate for patients with chronic disease conditions.
Chronic disease conditions are best treated early on when there is a change in patient condition and an early intervention can make a difference.  It is even better to treat them in a wellness treatment environment before there are indications of chronic disease, before symptoms develop, by addressing lifestyle issues early on.

 Left to their own judgments, some patients typically are apt to make terrible decisions relating to their personal health either because of ignorance, genetic inheritance, or because of lifestyle habit.  The ability to accurately access patient condition via a combination of advanced testing and telemonitoring creates the opportunity to intervene when what is called for clinically can make a difference, and to provide education regarding healthy living in a way that is likely to create compliance with clinician recommendations.