Royal Philips : Telehealth program by Changi General Hospital and Philips empowers heart failure patients to be more confident and involved in managing their heart condition

'This program has helped me understand how to take better care of my health,' said Gan Hwee Sun, 76, who was enrolled in the program. 'I am now more conscientious about healthy eating and being active. I am also very grateful to my telecarer for her concern and regular follow-ups with me. She has shared useful knowledge about heart failure, which has given me more confidence to manage my condition at home.'

With reduced heart failure related readmission, this translated to cost savings for both patients and hospitals. The costs for heart failure related admissions in a year for heart failure patients in the telemonitoring group was 42 percent (S$ 2,514) lower compared to patients that received support via telephone calls.

'It is important for patients with chronic conditions to feel that they are empowered and in control of their own health as it increases their capacity to take action,' said Dr. Sheldon Lee, Program Director and Consultant, Cardiology, CGH. 'Patients with greater knowledge of their conditions are more confident about self-care, and are more likely to comply with treatment plans. This naturally leads to reduced risk of complications that may necessitate readmission to CGH. We are delighted to see these encouraging results in the pilot and will continue to look into enhancing the program further so as to provide sustainable benefits for our patients in the long run.'

'To meet the long-term demand for chronic care, we need to start shifting chronic disease management beyond hospital walls and into our patients' home,' said Diederik Zeven, General Manager, Health Systems, Philips ASEAN Pacific. 'Telehealth, where patients are remotely monitored at home, is a sustainable and scalable model that bridges the care delivery gap. At the same time, this care model also shows positive impact in treatment compliance which results in better quality of life for patients.'