Limited use and potential implementation hurdles of telemedicine tools for the remote management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among members of SEPAR

Introduction. Telemedicine (TM) can help in the management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This study examines knowledge, current use and potential limitations for practical implementation of TM for the remoted management of COPD patients among members of the COPD area of SEPAR (n=3,118). Methods. An electronic survey was circulated 3 times to these 3,118 health-care professionals. Their knowledge, current use and potential limitations for implementation of different forms of TM, including tele-monitoring, tele-education and self-care, tele-rehabilitation and mobile health, for the remote management of COPD patients were tabulated and described. Results. Only 120 health-care professionals responded to the survey (3.9%). The rate of response varied greatly across different Autonomous Communities (AACC); 99.2% of responders declared being aware of TM, but only 60.5% knew about the different TM alternatives investigated here, and only 40.3% actually used some form of TM for their current management of patients with COPD. Of those using TM, 47.1% referred being satisfied with its use. Main identified barriers for implementation of TM in their institutions were technological limitations and data security. Conclusions. The potential of TM for the clinical management of COPD is well known among interviewed health-care professionals, but only less than half used it currently. The potential for growth is therefore clear. We propose that SEPAR analyze critically this potential and promotes measures to achieve it for the benefit of COPD patients.