title: [Using telemedicine to improve chronic disease monitoring].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to understand how home telecare technologies can be used to improve services for people with chronic diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Canadian elders with at least one of the targeted chronic diseases (COPD, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes) were asked to use telehomecare equipment. The data needed to assess the implementation process and to monitor outcomes were collected through participatory observation, documentary analysis and interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study found that the technology has a number of benefits for patients, particularly in terms of access to health services. By enabling patients to access more information about their health, the use of the technology, combined with an educational program, contributes to increasing their capacity for self-management. The results also indicate that the telehomecare equipment had a positive impact on clinical decision-making. By facilitating health professionals' access to information and expertise, it was found to promote interprofessional practice. The study found that telehomecare technology has an organizational impact on practice and requires organizational adaptation, the form of which will depend on local organizational and clinical settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that telehomecare technology helps to create conditions that need to be met by health care organizations in order to improve service delivery to people with chronic diseases, particularly with regard to interprofessional collaboration, health professionals' access to information and expertise and active patient participation. However, the successful implementation of the technology requires a detailed analysis of the settings in which it is used.
authors: Département d'administration de la sant&-IRSPUM, Université de Montreal - C.P. 6128 - Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada. lise.lamothe@umontreal.ca
authors: Lise
authors: L
authors: Lamothe
authors: Marie-Andrée
authors: MA
authors: Paquette
authors: Jean-Paul
authors: JP
authors: Fortin
authors: Françoise
authors: F
authors: Labbé
authors: Djamel
authors: D
authors: Messikhs
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Duplantie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D019468:Disease Management; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011792:Quebec; D017216:Telemedicine