TY  - JOUR
T1  - Increased mortality following telemonitoring in frail elderly patients: Look before you leap!
AU  - Trappenburg J, Groenwold R, Schuurmans M
Y1  - 2012/11/12
N1  - 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4421
JO  - Archives of Internal Medicine
SP  - 1612
EP  - 1612
VL  - 172
IS  - 20
N2  - 
Telemonitoring is often proposed as an efficient way to provide health care. The recent study by Takahashi et al1 examining telemonitoring in vulnerable patients with mixed chronic diseases clearly reflects the need for meticulous scientific approaches to study these types of interventions. Telemonitoring aims at early detection and prompt action in the case of health deterioration. Although patients reported high satisfaction and a sense of safety,2 telemonitoring failed to reduce hospital admissions and emergency department visits. Surprisingly, it resulted in a 4-fold increase in mortality risk (relative risk, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3-11.0). This suggests that telemonitoring in frail elderly patients is hazardous, causing more harm than good. However, one can question the validity of this conclusion.

SN  - 0003-9926
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4421
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4421
ER  -