eHealth in transplantation

Abstract

Summary eHealth (“electronic” Health) is a new field in medicine that has the potential to change medical care, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. In this review, we analyzed the current status of eHealth in transplantation by performing a PubMed search over the last 5 years with a focus on clinical studies for post‐transplant care. We retrieved 463 manuscripts, of which 52 clinical reports and eight randomized controlled trials were identified. Most studies were on kidney (n = 19), followed by liver (n = 10), solid organ (n = 7), bone‐marrow (n = 6), and lung transplantation (n = 6). Eleven articles included adolescents/children. Investigated eHealth features covered the whole spectrum with mobile applications for patients (n = 24) and video consultations (n = 18) being most frequent. Prominent topics for patient apps were self‐management (n = 16), adherence (n = 14), symptom‐reporting (11), remote monitoring of vital signs (n = 8), educational (n = 7), and drug reminder (n = 7). In this review, we discuss opportunities and strengths of such new eHealth solutions, the implications for successful implementation into the healthcare process, the human factor, data protection, and finally, the need for better evidence from prospective clinical trials in order to confirm the claims on better patient care, potential efficiency gains and cost savings.

Adoption of a novel smart mobile‐health application technology to track chronic immunosuppression adherence in solid organ transplantation: Results of a prospective, observational, multicentre, pilot study

“…However, recent results of small trials implementing m‐Health apps or more complex technologies have reported no direct improvement on medication adherence 30,32,33 . Nevertheless, all these studies suggest that the implementation of e‐Health in current medical practice may also boost the use of m‐Health technologies 34 …”

Psychosocial situation, adherence, and utilization of video consultation in young adult long‐term pediatric liver transplant recipients during COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The pandemic highlights the advantages of such telemedicine and eHealth tools and could facilitate their broader implementation. 24 , 25 …”

“…Hanke et al, 23 who reported on a telemedicine‐based aftercare program for kidney transplant recipients, concluded that this program was effective in maintaining physical activity and quality of life during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The pandemic highlights the advantages of such telemedicine and eHealth tools and could facilitate their broader implementation 24,25 …”

Effectiveness of mobile health‐based self‐management application for posttransplant cares: A systematic review

“…However, the additional advantage of new telemedicine concepts over standard posttransplant care must be demonstrated to justify the use of additional costs. 49 The development and implementation of these systems entail several different costs such as the cost of equipment, personnel, and communications. 50 Two of the most common methods of economic evaluation are cost‐utility analysis (CUA) and cost‐effectiveness analysis (CEA).…”