title: Effectiveness of Remote Patient Monitoring After Discharge of Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure: The Better Effectiveness After Transition -- Heart Failure (BEAT-HF) Randomized Clinical Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It remains unclear whether telemonitoring approaches provide benefits for patients with heart failure (HF) after hospitalization.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of a care transition intervention using remote patient monitoring in reducing 180-day all-cause readmissions among a broad population of older adults hospitalized with HF.
  
  
  METHODS
  We randomized 1437 patients hospitalized for HF between October 12, 2011, and September 30, 2013, to the intervention arm (715 patients) or to the usual care arm (722 patients) of the Better Effectiveness After Transition-Heart Failure (BEAT-HF) study and observed them for 180 days. The dates of our study analysis were March 30, 2014, to October 1, 2015. The setting was 6 academic medical centers in California. Participants were hospitalized individuals 50 years or older who received active treatment for decompensated HF.
  
  
  METHODS
  The intervention combined health coaching telephone calls and telemonitoring. Telemonitoring used electronic equipment that collected daily information about blood pressure, heart rate, symptoms, and weight. Centralized registered nurses conducted telemonitoring reviews, protocolized actions, and telephone calls.
  
  
  METHODS
  The primary outcome was readmission for any cause within 180 days after discharge. Secondary outcomes were all-cause readmission within 30 days, all-cause mortality at 30 and 180 days, and quality of life at 30 and 180 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 1437 participants, the median age was 73 years. Overall, 46.2% (664 of 1437) were female, and 22.0% (316 of 1437) were African American. The intervention and usual care groups did not differ significantly in readmissions for any cause 180 days after discharge, which occurred in 50.8% (363 of 715) and 49.2% (355 of 722) of patients, respectively (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.88-1.20; P = .74). In secondary analyses, there were no significant differences in 30-day readmission or 180-day mortality, but there was a significant difference in 180-day quality of life between the intervention and usual care groups. No adverse events were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among patients hospitalized for HF, combined health coaching telephone calls and telemonitoring did not reduce 180-day readmissions.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01360203.
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles2Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.
authors: Michael K
authors: MK
authors: Ong
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis4Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis.
authors: Patrick S
authors: PS
authors: Romano
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Edgington
authors: Office of Nursing Research and Development, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
authors: Harriet U
authors: HU
authors: Aronow
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
authors: Andrew D
authors: AD
authors: Auerbach
authors: Department of Resource and Outcomes Management, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
authors: Jeanne T
authors: JT
authors: Black
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: De Marco
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles8Department of Health Policy & Management, University of California, Los Angeles9RAND Health, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California.
authors: Jose J
authors: JJ
authors: Escarce
authors: Program in Nursing Science, University of California, Irvine.
authors: Lorraine S
authors: LS
authors: Evangelista
authors: School of Nursing, University of California, Davis.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Hanna
authors: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego13Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.
authors: Theodore G
authors: TG
authors: Ganiats
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego.
authors: Barry H
authors: BH
authors: Greenberg
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine.
authors: Sheldon
authors: S
authors: Greenfield
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine.
authors: Sherrie H
authors: SH
authors: Kaplan
authors: Division of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
authors: Asher
authors: A
authors: Kimchi
authors: Division of Public Health & Community Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Honghu
authors: H
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine.
authors: Dawn
authors: D
authors: Lombardo
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles8Department of Health Policy & Management, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Carol M
authors: CM
authors: Mangione
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Bahman
authors: B
authors: Sadeghi
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis.
authors: Banafsheh
authors: B
authors: Sadeghi
authors: Department of Computer Science, University of California, Los Angeles19Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Majid
authors: M
authors: Sarrafzadeh
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis.
authors: Kathleen
authors: K
authors: Tong
authors: Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors: Gregg C
authors: GC
authors: Fonarow
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012107:Research Design; D013686:Telemetry; D013689:Telephone; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology