Tele-HF
Telemonitoring to Improve Heart Failure Outcomes (Tele-HF)
Overview
Conducted from 2006 to 2010, Tele-HF is the largest randomized controlled trial to study the effectiveness of telemonitoring on heart failure outcomes. We enrolled 1660 Heart Failure (HF) patients from 33 clinical sites into this 4-year multicenter study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Each enrolled patient was randomly assigned to 1 of 2 study arms: usual care or telemonitoring plus usual care. Randomization was stratified by clinical practice.
Patients in the telemonitoring arm received daily telemonitoring for 6 months. Telemonitoring consists of patients calling a toll-free number to report their daily weight and answer a pre-programmed series of questions. The system automatically uploaded participants’ responses to a secure data center. A clinician in each clinical site then reviewed responses by accessing a secure Internet site.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this negative study received international attention. We are currently conducting ongoing analyses.
Patients in the telemonitoring arm received daily telemonitoring for 6 months. Telemonitoring consists of patients calling a toll-free number to report their daily weight and answer a pre-programmed series of questions. The system automatically uploaded participants’ responses to a secure data center. A clinician in each clinical site then reviewed responses by accessing a secure Internet site.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this negative study received international attention. We are currently conducting ongoing analyses.
