Ambulatory monitoring for chronic cardiac and pulmonary patients.

In the Greek pilot of the e-Vital project, remote telemedicine services are provided to chronic cardiac and pulmonary patients who are not confined to a hospital (i.e. receiving home/ambulatory health care) with the aim of exploring the dynamics of interactive continuous chronic patient monitoring, particularly focusing on the impact on patient's quality of life, the patient's active involvement in their own care and according impact on the overall quality of healthcare provision, as well as the benefits for healthcare providers (time management, patient management, savings, etc). The current trial in progress validates the business potential of remote monitoring services and demonstrates the technical environment that enables patient-doctor interaction regardless of location and the according communication modes and protocols. The domain for applying the envisaged service is the private healthcare sector and the users groups include individual chronic patients with cardiac and pulmonary diseases. So far, from the patient's point of view, the service mainly appeals to patients with arrhythmias due to lightweight technology and easy processes involved in the transmission of 1-lead ECG. Asthma and COPD patients are also enthusiastic, as they can receive doctor advice in real time. From the health professional's point of view the service has real added value in the fields of diagnosis, prevention, monitoring and follow up. In the case of asthma and COPD the value of the service in diagnosis is even more apparent as these patients may be asymptomatic, when they visit their doctor and have exacerbations when they are at home. e-Vital in this case ensures that the healthcare professional will acquire the complete image of the patient condition. Finally, the experiences gained so far indicate that e-Vital could be particularly efficient in isolated areas, with shortage of experienced scientific personnel.