Monitoring patients’ health by phone can make a real difference to people with chronic heart failure, according to a study published on bmj.com.

About 900,000 people in the UK have heart failure. Men are slightly more likely to be affected than women and it is far more common among older people.

The review found that remote monitoring programmes (structured telephone support or telemonitoring by a health professional) reduced admissions to hospital and deaths from all causes by nearly one fifth, while also improving health related quality of life.

The authors conclude that, although remote monitoring should not be seen as a replacement for specialist care, it may be of particular benefit to patients who have difficulty accessing specialised care because of geography, transport, or infirmity.

Source: British Medical Journal