Cardiovascular Telemedicine
Quick Facts
The Telecardiology Centre at Monzino, manned by specific medical and nursing staff, is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, guaranteeing a continuous teleconsultation service.
The service includes specialised evaluations conducted at home and programmed, repeated telephone contacts, in order to monitor the patients’ clinical condition constantly.
The application of telecommunication to the clinical evaluation of patients nowadays enables continuous, personalised care of a patient with heart disease, regardless of geographical distance.
The Unit of Telemedicine is dedicated to the continuous remote surveillance of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Electrocardiograms, blood pressure measurements, pulse oximetry, blood glucose levels and coagulation indices are some of the information that can be easily shared, through an ordinary telephone connection, with a team of medical specialists, so as to obtain immediate, "on-line" clinical cardiologic counselling.
The Centro Cardiologico Monzino has been one of the pioneers of this service and can boast the implementation of several cardiologic remote care protocols.
The Telecardiology Centre at Monzino, established in 2000 in support of the implementation of a post-cardiac surgery home rehabilitation project, has, over time, become increasingly specialised in remote management of clinical problems. The Centre, manned by specific medical and nursing staff, is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, guaranteeing a continuous teleconsultation service.
Through specialised evaluations conducted at home and programmed, repeated telephone contacts, the patients’ clinical condition is monitored in order to pick up changes in their state of health early and to intervene promptly with the appropriate therapeutic changes. In addition, the patients, appropriately trained, can easily record and transmit their electrocardiograms by telephone through a small portable device which they are given. This activity is carried out by a dedicated call-center with H24 medical and nursing staff.
Activities of the Unit
- The Cardiovascular Telemedicine Center provides a home-based rehabilitation for patients who underwent a cardiac surgery procedure, given a more rapid recovery in their own familiar environment. The dedicated medical and nursing staff continuously assures the best support to assist the patient in his or her re-introduction into everyday normal life routine. Programmed evaluations are performed at patient’s home and, in addition (by mean of a continuous phone follow-up) clinical conditions are constantly monitored, for example by the use of a portable electrocardiographic device able to transmit by phone their electrocardiogram (EKG) to the center, to ensure prompt therapeutic intervention if necessary. All these activities contribute to patient’s psychological well-being. The progressive evolution of Cardiovascular Telemedicine Center staff (which now guarantees continuous service 24/7, all year long) has led to progressive specialization in handling and solving clinical problems at distance.
- Our Center provides home surveillance and monitoring in patients with cardiac arrhythmias too, with a week-long Holter device, and with a continuous ECG monitor to guarantee an immediate alert when an adverse condition is diagnosed. This reduces inappropriate or unnecessary visits to the Emergency Department, thus reducing patients’ anxiety.
- To complete monitoring for the arrhythmic patients, the Telemedicine Center provides electrocardiogram portable devices that let patients perform his/her own ECG all the year long, when necessary.
In the future, in cooperation with the Oral Anticoagulation Therapy Center of CCM, patients will be encouraged to monitor their anticoagulation status even with an INR dosage in pharmacy.