<p>Global use, utility, and methods of tele-health in COPD: a health care provider survey</p>

Abstract

Introduction Advances in technology offer various solutions that might help optimize the care provided to patients living with chronic non-communicable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the efficacy of tele-health in COPD is still controversial. Despite this, there appears to be widespread adoption of this technology. Aim To explore the international use of tele-heath for COPD, to assess the perceptions of clinicians employing tele-health in COPD, and to summarize the techniques that have been used by health care providers to personalize alarm limits for patients with COPD enrolled on tele-health programs. Methods A cross-sectional survey consisting of 15 questions was distributed and advertised to health care professionals worldwide. Questions were designed to cover five different aspects of tele-health in COPD: purpose of use, equipment type, clinician perceptions, variables monitored, and personalization of alarm limits. Results A total of 138 participants completed the survey from 29 different countries. As high as 59% of the participants had ever used tele-health for COPD, and 33% still provided tele-health services to patients with COPD. Tele-health was most commonly used for baseline monitoring, with 90% believing it to be effective. The three most commonly monitored variables were oxygen saturation, heart rate, and the use of rescue medication. Conclusion Twenty-nine different countries use tele-health for managing COPD and therefore there is widespread international use of tele-health in COPD. The majority of providers thought tele-health was effective despite evidence to the contrary.

COVID-19 Outcomes in Saudi Arabia and the UK: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

“…Because this model relies on early reported cases, it might serve as a resource for decision making regarding future pandemics. Also, as telemedicine have been effective in the delivery of care to individuals in their home (49, 50), future studies should investigate the effectiveness of using telemedicine for Covid-19 patients in both countries and how this affects the pandemic outcomes.…”

Prevalence, Severity and Mortality associated with COPD and Smoking in patients with COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…It highlights the global prevalence and the clinical effects of COVID-19 on COPD patients and smokers. As COPD patients are at an increased risk of severe outcomes if they became infected with COVID-19, it is recommended that patients and clinicians establish effective plans for ensuring prevention, such as using tele-medicine to ensure that COPD receive the best care [56,57]. We strongly advocate public awareness campaigns concentrating on ways to achieve smoking cessation among smokers, and it is possible that an improvement in cessation rates will help to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.…”

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients’ Acceptance in E-Health Clinical Trials

“…This could lead to participant dissatisfaction and, ultimately, dropping out of the study. Essential steps at the designing and implementation levels are needed to plan and enable more technical support during the delivery of TH interventions [ 68 ]. Another possible explanation for dropout rates could be the discrepancy between the patients’ expectations and their abilities to operate and use TH [ 69 ].…”

“…Current systematic reviews provide a comprehensive description and summary of the acceptance and dropout rates of different forms of TH interventions for patients with COPD. Generally, TH interventions are acceptable among the COPD population [ 11 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 67 , 68 , 74 , 75 ]. Nevertheless, methodological queries remain regarding the design of a more acceptable and feasible TH intervention, the best strategy to provide TH interventions (individual vs. community), components of TH interventions (solo vs. joint other treatments), technological aspects (classic vs. advanced), and COPD phenotypes (stable vs. non-stable) that will obtain more benefits from TH interventions.…”