Home telemonitoring in COPD: a systematic review of methodologies and patients' adherence

Aim: This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive description of the methodologies used in home telemonitoring interventions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and to explore patients' adherence and satisfaction with the use of telemonitoring systems.

Methods: A literature search was performed from June to August and updated until December of 2012 on Medline, Embase, Web of Science and B-on databases using the following keywords: [tele(-)monitoring, tele(-)health, tele(-)homecare, tele(-)care, tele-home health or home monitoring] and [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD]. References of all articles were also reviewed.

Results: Seventeen articles were included, 12 of them published from 2010 to the present. The methodologies were similar in the training provided to patients and in the data collection and transmission processes. However, differences in the type of technology used, telemonitoring duration and provision of prompts/feedback, were found. Patients were generally satisfied and found the systems useful to help them manage their disease and improve healthcare provision. Nevertheless, they reported some difficulties in their use, which in some studies were related to lower compliance rates.

Conclusions: Telemonitoring interventions are a relatively new field in COPD research. Findings suggest that these interventions, although promising, present some usability problems that need to be considered in future research. These adjustments are essential before the widespreading of telemonitoring.