Integrating Remote Follow-Up to Your Clinic Practice

Abstract

Telemedicine has been made possible by advancements in monitoring technologies. Outpatient clinics are now faced with the challenge of integrating home based monitoring systems with clinic visits in a way that is both efficient and effective for both health provider and patient. Over the past decade, remote follow-up of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) has been at the forefront of telemedicine in the US. CIED follow-up includes monitoring the functionality and diagnostic data of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization devices, permanent pacemakers and implantable loop recorders. Current remote technologies allow full disclosure of programmed and measured data, clinical diagnostic data and automatic checks transmitted via a home monitor to a secure server, accessible to the clinician via computer and/or mobile device. Remote monitoring also allows constant surveillance of lead and battery integrity in CIEDs that have wireless capabilities. The clinic is automatically notified by fax or email when alert thresholds are met. This lecture will discuss lessons learned from our 9 year experience integrating remote CIED follow-up to in-person clinic visits, incorporating recommendations from expert consensus for CIED monitoring.