Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (London, UK) is working with remote healthcare developer, Luscii, to provide an at-home monitoring platform to support patients with heart failure.
In its initial phase, the Luscii platform has been rolled out to a distinct cohort of patients who have previously been required to carry out multiple, in-person hospital visits over the course of two to three months of treatment. It is the latest pathway in the Connected Care Programme—iCareConnect—in North West London. These co-ordinated pathways aim to deliver better care that is easier for the patient and more cost-effective.
Carla Plymen, cardiology consultant & heart failure lead, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, commented: “Up until we deployed Luscii, patients with heart failure needing advice, guidance, checking of vitals and medication from our specialist nurses could only be seen in person. For some, the need for regular hospital visits can be challenging and, during the pandemic, it has also been important to keep hospital visits to a minimum for the safety of patients.
“Our ability to monitor and consistently engage with patients through this technology is one that I can already see will have significant benefits to patients and those of us charged with their care. Having daily vitals data and regular questionnaires come directly from each patient at home, offers us a far better chance of detecting early symptoms of deteriorating health which we can act on. Likewise, having advice and guidance that’s easily accessible by patients at home via the app facilitates improved self-care and increases quality of life.”
Through implementation of the remote monitoring platform patients with heart failure who need regular check-ups of their weight, blood pressure and general condition, are able to carry out these checks from home, submitting vitals daily via an app using a smartphone or tablet.
An AI-powered ‘Clinical Engine’ that underpins the platform is designed to spot early warning signs of any patient deterioration and alert Imperial College’s team of health care specialists who can immediately triage the situation and provide necessary patient support or resources.
Additionally, the technology helps ensure that remote patients are on optimal heart failure medications and at optimal doses, according to Tom Cooper, lead cardiology pharmacist at Imperial College Healthcare. “Being able to monitor the response to these medications remotely and view patient reported measurements is a valuable tool for pharmacists to optimise medications more efficiently whilst offering a more favourable experience for some patients.”
The project has been supported by AstraZeneca via Discover-NOW hub that uses de-identified, real-world data for research to quantify the problems in the existing heart failure pathway and evaluate the impacts of the enhancements made across it by Imperial College Trust including the implementation of Luscii remote patient monitoring.
