The BMJ's video: Telehealth for patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease

Read the full research: http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2647 The growing prevalence of long term conditions means that new and more efficient approaches to healthcare delivery are needed that support people to manage their own care, with less reliance on consultations with expensively trained healthcare professionals. Many countries are exploring a greater use of technologies, such as the internet, remote monitoring, and telephone support as a way of expanding provision and increasing access to care for a large number of people at relatively low cost. In the United Kingdom, current policy envisages these “telehealth” approaches as having potential to transform the delivery of healthcare to make the national health service sustainable for the future. This research set out to assess whether non-clinical staff can effectively manage people at high risk of cardiovascular disease using digital health technologies. They found that this telehealth approach was associated with small clinical benefits for a minority of people with high cardiovascular risk, and there was no overall improvement in average risk. The Healthlines service was, however, associated with improvements in some risk behaviours, and in perceptions of support and access to care.