Telehealth Monitoring in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Telehealth Monitoring in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The the aim of this study is to determine the benefits of Telehealth monitoring in the
 management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major burden on healthcare systems
 worldwide. The current management of patients with COPD includes well established
 interventions such as pulmonary rehabilitation and inhaled therapies which have demonstrated
 variable impact on reducing rates of exacerbation and improving health related quality of
 life.

 Telehealth is a home monitoring system used to record clinical observations and carry out
 question and answer sessions. It has been proposed that Telehealth medicine may offer an
 alternative strategy to the overall management of these patients.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

 -  a minimum of two: Emergency Department admissions; hospital admissions or emergency GP
 contacts in the 12 months previous to the study

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  any respiratory disorder other than COPD

 -  patients cognitively unable to learn the process of monitoring