TEC4Home Heart Failure: Using Home Health Monitoring to Support the Transition of Care

TEC4Home: Telehealth for Emergency-Community Continuity of Care Connectivity Via Home-Telemonitoring

TEC4Home Heart Failure is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that examines how home health monitoring (HHM) can support Heart Failure (HF) patients during the transition of care from hospital to home. The HHM solution includes a weight scale, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter and tablet computer, which patients use daily for 60 days to record these metrics and answer questions on their symptoms. This data is sent to a nurse who is able to monitor the patient's condition remotely. The hypothesis is that the TEC4Home HHM solution will be a cost-effective strategy to decrease 90-day Emergency Department (ED) revisits and hospital admission rates, and improve quality of life and self-management for patients living with Heart Failure.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be 19 years of age or older (age of majority in British Columbia)
• Have one or more typical symptoms of Heart Failure (i.e. dyspnoea at rest or minimal exertion (includes orthopnoea, reduced exercise tolerance)) AND
• Have one or more typical signs of Heart Failure (i.e. elevated jugular venous pressure, pulmonary crepitations, pleural effusions, peripheral oedema) AND
• Have one or more objective measures of heart failure:
• Radiological congestion.
• Elevated BNP ≥ 400 pg/mL or NT-proBNP ≥ 1000 pg/mL.
• Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction <40% (or <45%) in previous 12 months.
• Diastolic dysfunction including tissue Doppler E/e' ratio > 15 in previous 12 months.
• Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure >20 mmHg.
• Diuretic therapy. The additional value of diuretic therapy (IV or oral) is debatable, as presumably unlikely (or unsafe) that patient with genuine HF will be discharged without diuretic.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Physical barriers e.g. unable to stand on scales.
• Cognitive impairment (e.g. MMSE <20), unless suitable caregiver support.
• Language (must be able to read and understand English), unless suitable caregiver support.
• Documented history of current and active substance misuse (within 3 months).
• Lack digital connectivity or landline phone connection.
• No regular care provider e.g. GP, or at least regular walk-in clinic.
• Existing intensive system of care: LVAD, transplant, dialysis.
• Anticipated improvement due to revascularization (PCI/CABG) or valve intervention during index hospitalization.
• Anticipated survival <90 days. Active palliative care, less-than level III care, disseminated malignancy.