Asthma: Provider Outcomes

Summary

Nurses tend to be in charge of managing home telehealth interventions.  Patient-to-provider contact is generally asynchronous; the patient transmits data to a central server and the provider views this information at their leisure.

Home telehealth interventions for asthma management often feature some level of automation.  If patients receive immediate feedback, it may be provided by the system rather than the provider.  A treatment algorithm generates recommendations in response to patient information.  If there are signs of an impending asthma exacerbation, data transmission is flagged and forwarded to the provider.  A telephone call to the patient may ensue.  This system reduces demands on the provider while providing patients with immediate reinforcement of system use.  It is somewhat reminiscent of the use of advice and referral protocols that are seen in some call centres, but eliminates the need for a human intermediary between protocol and patient.

Our search did not retrieve any substantive information on provider uptake or on the effects of home telehealth on providers.  A care delivery model that incorporates automation might reasonably be expected to lead to improved efficiency and greater provider satisfaction, but no concrete information on this was available.

 

Details

Uptake and Use of Technology

No uptake or use of technology outcomes were reported.

 

Effects on Practice and Patient Care

No information on effects on practice and patient care was reported in the quantitative articles retrieved.

And on the qualitative side . . .In interviews and focus groups conducted in Pinnock et al. (2007), patients and providers expressed some concern over the risk of patient dependence on technology and clinicians. While the mobile telehealth system was seen as valuable in the early stages of self-management, it was thought appropriate to reduce the level of monitoring as patients became more confident.

 

Cost and Time Savings

No cost or time savings outcomes were reported.

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