[Varying effect of telemedicine in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--a systematic review]

Ugeskr Laeger. 2012 Apr 2;174(14):936-42.
[Article in Danish]

Abstract

A systematic review of existing evidence on the efficiency of telemedicine solutions for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was performed. A systematic literature search was conducted in five relevant databases followed by evaluation of methodology and results in selected studies. Nine RCT trials of varying quality were identified. The selected studies were mostly multimodal with telemedicine as part of a more complex intervention. Benefits of using telemedicine solutions for patients with COPD are not yet clear, but in some multimodal studies with telemedicine as part of the solution a positive effect on hospital admissions, emergency room visits and contacts to primary care may be seen. Larger studies are needed.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / economics
  • Health Care Costs
  • Humans
  • Monitoring, Physiologic
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data
  • Patient Readmission / statistics & numerical data
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / economics
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / epidemiology
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / therapy*
  • Quality of Life
  • Telemedicine* / economics
  • Telemedicine* / methods