Home Telemonitoring in Patients at High Risk for Readmission

This study will evaluate the efficacy of home telemonitoring as an intervention to decrease hospital readmissions in patients at high risk for readmission. The overall readmission rate for high-risk MCF hospital patients is approximately 20%. Currently a system is in place to identify and score all MCF patients for their risk of readmission. This score is based on multiple variables including but not limited to: co-morbid conditions, patient's health literacy, whether they are a Medicare/Medicaid patient, their in-home social support, and whether they have had prior hospital admissions within the previous year. The literature shows that home telemonitoring of patients has had mixed results for effectiveness at preventing hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Many of these reports have restricted studies to patients with specific diseases or general characteristics; some have shown improved results while others have not. No study has examined patients who are high risk for readmission to determine if home telemonitoring for 30 days post-discharge reduces the risk for 30-day readmission.