Hospital at home: region-wide remote monitoring of patient with severe chronic illness

Purpose and goal:

The goal has been to lay the foundation for individually tailored and good care outside hospitals with increased quality of life for people with serious illness. Patients have been able to stay at home with safe and secure contact with hospitals, thanks to monitoring based on the individual´s needs. Measurements from sensors help caregivers to act proactively, to avoid deterioration with emergency visits and admissions.

The project includes patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation, COPD and the acute condition endocarditis (heart valve infection). Expected results and effects:

Patients and staff are positive about the monitoring. The pilots indicate that the monitoring means medical measures can be implemented earlier, that a deteriorating condition of the patient can be remedied without a visit to hospital, that interventions that have been shown to be unnecessary can be canceled in good time, that the patient can be cared for at home under the right conditions instead of being admitted to the hospital. Larger patient data and controlled studies are needed to ensure the results.

Approach and implementation:

Six pilots in three hospitals monitor patients in clinical practice and are used as testbeds for iterative development, where testing and evaluation continuously result in improved working methods and routines, needs for technical solutions and monitoring functions, etc. The project has been user-driven with support from innovation leaders and technology suppliers. Data collection and analysis of monitoring data, time estimation, user experiences etc. contribute to the development.