CLEVELAND: Cleveland Clinic researchers found that participation in a home monitoring program for patients with COVID-19 was associated with lower incidence of hospitalization. They published the findings May 6 in JAMA Health Forum.
Cleveland Clinic’s home monitoring program, established in spring 2020, is an interactive program through which providers remotely monitor patients with COVID-19 for up to 14 days after testing positive. Participants received daily phone calls from providers and could also enter their symptoms, temperature and oxygen levels each day. The EPIC electronic medical record My Chart Care Companion digital tool was also offered as a supplement to the telephone monitoring.
The research team assessed healthcare utilization patterns for patients enrolled in the program compared to similar patients not enrolled. There were 3975 patients who participated and 3221 who did not. Participation in the program was also associated with higher odds of outpatient visits at both 30 and 90 days following the program.
The researchers write: “Our outcomes support both the need for randomized trials to evaluate home monitoring programs and consideration of targeted resource allocation for home monitoring post COVID-19 diagnosis or to other opportunities to maintain the health of patients during the pandemic.”
The research team was led by Anita Misra-Hebert, MD, MPH, Director of the Healthcare Delivery & Implementation Science Center at Cleveland Clinic.
Study link: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/%2010.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.0333?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=050621
