Is an interactive voice response system (IVRS) effective in contributing to avoiding unplanned admissions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients

Introduction Many community services have been implemented over the past five years to support patients with COPD at home when exacerbating, including the use of telemonitoring. The evaluation of these new technologies is limited, variable and controversial (Wootton 2012, Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 18: (4) 211-220). Aim To evaluate an IVRS used within a local service providing early discharge and admission avoidance to patients with COPD. To assess the effect of telehealth delivered in this way on admission rates of this group of patients. Method A service evaluation was conducted examining retrospective data comparing the admission rates of patients who had access to the IVRS and usual care (n =20) and those who had access to usual care alone (n =20). Demographic data and admission frequency 12 months before and after the instigation of the IVRS and twelve months before and after engagement with the team without IVRS were examined. Results Data is presented as mean +- SEM. Data analysed using Mann Whitney u test. When comparing the admission history of the group receiving IVRS and those receiving usual care alone there was a significant reduction in admissions within the telehealth group (-0.3 +0.28 v 0.7 +0.35 p= 0.0287). Telehealth appeared to provide a positive influence on the number of admissions that the group experienced after its introduction although within the IVRS group alone this did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.336). Conclusion Whilst it appears that the use of the IVR in patients with COPD assists in reducing admission rates, further evaluation is needed to be confident of its effects.