JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death throughout the world. Telemedicine has been utilized for many diseases, and its prevalence is increasing in the U.S. Telemonitoring of patients with COPD has the potential to help patients manage disease and predict exacerbations. The objective of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of telemonitoring to manage the chronic disease of COPD.

Objective:

Researchers want to look at how telemonitoring has been used to observe COPD, and we’re hoping this will lead to more research in telemonitoring of this disease.

Methods:

The review was conducted and reported in accordance with Assessment for Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), respectively. Authors performed a systematic review of Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and PubMed databases to obtain relevant articles. Then, articles were accepted or rejected by group consensus. Each article was read and authors identified barriers and facilitators to effectiveness of telemonitoring of COPD.

Results:

The review’s results indicate that conflicting information exists for the effectiveness of telemonitoring of patients with COPD. Primarily, 13 of 29 articles stated that patient outcomes were improved overall with telemonitoring, while 11 of 29 indicated no improvement. For facilitators, authors recognized reduced need for in-person visits, better disease management, and bolstered patient-provider relationship. Important barriers included low-quality data, increased workload for providers, and cost.

Conclusions:

The high variability between the articles and the ways they provided telemonitoring services created conflicting results from the literature review. Future research should emphasize standardization of telemonitoring services and predictability of exacerbations.