Chronic respiratory insufficiency represents the advanced stage of a heterogeneous group of respiratory diseases, including COPD, which have an associated high cost burden.1 Modern information communication technologies offer new options to deliver remote specialised healthcare, among which telemonitoring, a complex intervention that includes both the electronic transmission of patient information to the healthcare system and the follow-up response by a healthcare professional. The rationale for telemonitoring development in patients presenting with chronic respiratory insufficiency with or without home mechanical ventilation need is related to: (1) progressive ageing of the patient population carrying with it an increased burden of care at home; (2) technological advances; (3) increased healthcare consumption and the need to cut costs; (4) the increasing number of home mechanical ventilation patients across Europe;2 (5) difficulties associated with hospital discharge, with tremendous physical and psychological burden for caregivers of home mechanical ventilation patients;

Posted: 2016-03-14 09:30:31