Telemonitoring: A bridge to personalized medicine

Despite the wide availability of telemonitoring systems in many European countries, currently only around 1% of patients with implantable cardiac devices in Europe are being monitored remotely. The majority are still being followed up by conventional in-office follow-up schemes. By the end of 2008, approximately 23.000 European patients were being monitored remotely.

Telemonitoring enables the safe reduction of traditional face to face follow-ups, thereby reducing physicians' workload by focusing on individual patients who need clinical attention. Telemonitoring studies such as TRUST, REFORM and ISMOS have shown that the number of regular in-office medical check-ups can be reduced by about 50% without risking patient's safety.

It also enables early detection of silent, asymptomatic arrhythmias allowing for earlier intervention compared to conventional follow-ups, since all patient data are updated on a daily basis. This facilitates a need-based and individualised patient aftercare, complying with the current HRS/EHRA recommendations and giving patients freedom, mobility, and a sense of relief, knowing that their heart is under continuous surveillance.

Source: European Society of Cardiology (news : web)