JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Over half of adults in the United States suffer from at least one chronic medical condition. Remote care strategies including telemedicine and remote monitoring with connected devices have grown in popularity to help patients manage their chronic conditions and follow medically prescribed recommendations [1, 2]. Understanding participants’ experiences with using remote care/remote monitoring programs is beneficial to determining if participants find these programs useful and will use them as part of their care strategy.

Objective:

To summarize participant’s satisfaction of non-hospitalized patients referred to and enrolled in Brook’s Remote Care program for individuals under care for a chronic health condition. The purpose of this study is to gain insights into participant’s ratings of program usefulness and satisfaction and how program ratings and self-reported health outcomes relate to participant demographics, length of time in the program, and which health conditions are being managed.

Methods:

A participant experience survey was emailed between September 23 and December 8, 2023, to active participants in the Brook’s Remote Care program. The survey included questions to rate program usefulness and satisfaction, program features, nurse monitoring, self-reported health and changes in health, condition management, and emotional wellbeing. Frequencies and percentages were generated for survey response data and responses were compared by gender, age group, duration in the program and health condition.

Results:

Surveys were sent to 1,411 active remote care participants and 360 participants responded to the survey resulting in a 26% response rate. Participants reported the program was useful (88%) and that they were highly likely to recommend it (65%) to other people with similar needs. 68% to 85% of participants rated program features as “good” to “excellent.” Nurse monitoring, monitoring devices, and program costs were rated most favorably. Nearly half of participants reported their physical (49%) and emotional health (45%) improved since being in the program and greater knowledge about their health condition (48%).

Conclusions:

Use of Remote Care for health condition management has grown in popularity. Remote Care programs play an important role in helping patients adhere to their provider’s care plan recommendations and improve the overall self-management of their chronic medical condition. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of the likelihood of participation and engagement. This study revealed high satisfaction with a program that included health monitoring with devices, routine follow-up with a nurse or coach, and patient education related to condition management and lifestyle change.