Clinical experience with remote programming of cardiac implantable electronic devices

Background As remote monitoring has become the standard of care for follow-up of cardiac implantable cardiac devices, extensions of remote monitoring can provide greater efficiency for the patient, caregiver, and industry representatives. To accomplish greater efficiency and flexibility of remote monitoring, and as an interim step toward "true" remote monitoring, LiveSupport was introduced as an innovative programmer and software solution that allows for remote programming of all current and most legacy BIOTRONIK devices. Objective To determine the utilization and efficacy of LiveSupport as an extension of remote monitoring and the level of satisfaction with this modality. Methods Analysis of the USA dataset of LiveSupport utilization from 04/01/2022 to 04/30/2025 was completed. In addition, satisfaction with LiveSupport was assessed with a total of 159 surveys of patients, remote caregivers, and industry representative. Results A total of 38,943 total LiveSupport sessions, from 2831 unique Renamic Neo Programmers, and 555 unique users were successfully completed. LiveSupport utilization increased substantially over time, peaking at 2,295 sessions per month. Survey results were consistent with high levels of satisfaction for patients, remote caregivers, and industry representatives. It was estimated that LiveSupport saved more than 60 min per patient in 78% of the sessions. Conclusion LiveSupport as an extension of remote monitoring is safe and effective with marked advantages for patients, remote caregivers, and industry representatives. This technical solution is an important step toward "true" remote monitoring of cardiac electronic implantable devices.