Rapid advances in technology combined with increasing demand for interventions that can “bend the cost curve” have stoked widespread interest in telehealth technologies. Telehealth has been broadly defined as “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration.”
In this issue of the Archives, Takahashi et al report on the results of a rigorous randomized controlled trial of telemonitoring in older adults at high risk for hospitalization. They found that in-home monitoring of biometrics (eg, blood pressure and weight) and symptoms failed to reduce hospital readmissions or the need for emergency department (ED) visits compared with usual care.
Abstract
Wilson, Scott R.; Cram, Peter, Archives of Internal Medicine, Online first, DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.685
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