Telehealth Interventions for Management of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) and Asthma

Abstract

The authors systematically collated, classified, and evaluated the evidence of intervention studies from recent systematic reviews about the effects of telehealth interventions on COPD and asthma care. Eight electronic databases were searched. Eligible articles were those published between 2001 and 2011 in English. Eleven review articles are included. Asthma and COPD are better controlled when patients use interactive technological tools to monitor their chronic disease. The effects of telehealth interventions on emergency department attendance, specific quality of life, and mortality remained less certain. Only some reviews mentioned if the cost-effectiveness was systematically analyzed. Telehealth promises to be a highly effective intervention in managing chronic lung diseases while also potentially reducing some of the economic burdens of asthma and COPD. New directions in telehealth developments, implementations, and evaluations should be made, in which the exchange of health information should not be over simplified, but rather reflect the different socio-cultural practices of population groups and individuals.