The role of telecare in the management of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the home

We examined home care as an alternative to hospital admission in exacerbati ons of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We performed a pilot s tudy to investigate the feasibility of using telecommunications technology to assist in the support of acutely ill patients with exacerbations of COPD at home. Realtime, interactive video, via an analogue videophone, was used to allow patients in their own homes to obtain nursing support from a nurs e located at a distant base station. Six individuals, four male and two fem ale, had video-phones installed in their homes by members of the nursing in tervention team. The age range was 52-72 years, mean 61.5. These patients u sed the system on 18 occasions. Experience in home telecare, via interactiv e video, has been limited to provision of ongoing support for relatively st able individuals with chronic illness. This pilot project represents the fi rst attempt at providing home telecare in the UK to those experiencing an a cute exacerbation of their chronic illness, who would otherwise have merite d acute hospital admission.