R.K. Cross, K. Sharma, M. Arora, and J. Finkelstein (USA)
Telemanagement, Self-care, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, IBD
Objectives: Despite effective treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), noncompliance is a barrier to successful outcomes. Improved methods for disease monitoring are needed. Home Automated Telemanagement (HAT) has been implemented in other chronic conditions. We sought to assess acceptance and attitudes of HAT in IBD. Methods: The HAT unit consists of a computer connected with a weight scale. Patients respond to questions about symptoms, medication side effects, and compliance. Eight patients received an instruction session on how to use HAT; they were then asked to complete testing without supervision. Attitudinal surveys and structured qualitative interviews were performed. Results: All patients reported that use of the computer, weight scale and the self-testing procedure was not complicated. All patients reported that symptom and side effect questions were easy to answer and that testing took very little time. All patients reported that they could comply with testing at least 3 times per week and 87.5% would agree to use the system in the future. Conclusions: Improved methods of disease monitoring are needed for patients with IBD. Patients can be easily trained to use HAT, and acceptance is high. A six-month study evaluating patient acceptance and compliance with HAT in IBD is ongoing.
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