Remote Patient Monitoring Program for COVID-19 Patients Following Hospital Discharge: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need to act to reduce the spread of the virus and alleviate congestion from healthcare services, protect healthcare providers, and help them maintain satisfactory quality and safety of care. Remote COVID-19 monitoring platforms emerged as potential solutions.Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity and contribution of two different platforms used to remotely monitor patients with COVID-19 to maintain quality, safety, and patient engagement in care, as well as their acceptability, usefulness, and user-friendliness from the user's perspective. The first platform is focused on telecare phone calls (Telecare-Covid), and the second is a telemonitoring app (CareSimple-Covid).Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study. The data were collected through a phone survey from May to August 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test analysis. Participants' responses and comments on open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis to identify certain issues and challenges and potential avenues for improving the platforms.Results: Fifty one patients participated in the study. Eighteen participants used the CareSimple-Covid platform and 33 participants used the Telecare-Covid platform. Overall, the satisfaction rate for quality and safety of care for the two platforms was 80%. Over 88% of the users on each platform considered the platforms' services to be engaging, useful, user-friendly, and appropriate to their needs. The survey identified a few significant differences in users' perceptions of each platform: empathy toward users and the quality and safety of the care received were rated significantly higher on the CareSimple-Covid platform than on the Telecare-Covid platform. Users appreciated four aspects of these telehealth approaches: (1) the ease of access to services and the availability of care team members; (2) the user-friendliness of the platforms; (3) the continuity of care provided, and (4) the wide range of services delivered. Users identified some technical limitations and raised certain issues, such as the importance of maintaining human contact, data security, and confidentiality. Improvement suggestions include promoting access to connected devices; enhancing communications between institutions, healthcare users, and the public on confidentiality and personal data protection standards; and integrating a participatory approach to telehealth platform development and deployment efforts.Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence that the two remote monitoring platforms are well-received by users, with very few significant differences between them concerning users' experiences and views. This type of program could be considered for use in a post-pandemic era and for other post-hospitalization clienteles. To maximize efficiency, the areas for improvement and the issues identified should be addressed with a patient-centered approach.

Effect of COVID‐19 inpatients with cognitive decline on discharge after the quarantine period: A retrospective cohort study

“…Based on the results, a discharge transition program and the team should be established to accommodate cognitively declined patients. 26 For future epidemics or disasters, frail elderly will need hospitalization with a rapid increase in medical demands as with this wave. 9 While medical facilities and professionals are utilized in their capacity to confront such a wave, interprofessional work could be the key solution to discharging patients without delay.…”

Reconnecting health through innovation

“…Using telemedicine, our teams have been able to follow the progress of patients with and without COVID-19 and quickly intervene when a patient's condition deteriorates. 12,13 This personalized medicine makes it possible to better identify the needs of each patient and adjust care accordingly. 18 By combining public health and personalized medicine data, a better match can be achieved between patient needs and institutional responses.…”

“…During the pandemic, telemedicine activities, which increased dramatically (from 700 to 22,500 teleconsultations in 6 months), were used as a way to monitor the progress of patients with COVID and other diseases outside the institutions and guide their treatment. 12,13 Evidence-based practice…”

Participant and research team perspectives on the conduct of a remote therapeutic COVID-19 clinical trial: A mixed methods approach

“…In addition, patient collection of nasal swab samples was shown to be feasible in a telemedicine study of COVID-19 [17]. Patients with COVID-19 enrolled in telehealth patient monitoring programs post-discharge reported high ratings of satisfaction with the quality and safety of their care and were less likely to be readmitted [18][19][20].…”