Abstract

From the ‘Remote Cardiac Rehabilitation’ to multi-disciplinary chronic disease management programs by digital means

Author(s): Irene Nabutovsky

Cardiovascular diseases, often accompanied by many background diseases, are the main cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are a key component of secondary prevention and lack of participation or adherence lead to significantly higher adverse event rates including hospitalization and mortality. Technological means have great potential for improving health care outcomes. Home-cardiac rehabilitation (H-CR) using technology implements the ‘patient-centered’ approach within the health services. Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Health approved the H-CR program for a low-risk patient and included it into medical coverage of the state. In accordance with the Ministry of Health circular the H-CR program is implemented at Shiba Medical Center since November 2018 and received 140 cardiac patients. The program incorporates innovative technology alongside multiprofessional care. Implementation of the program enables studies about the methods to put into effect the therapeutic model in other chronic disease management programs, while maintaining patient safety and securing medical information. The purpose of this article is to review the first H-CR program in Israel, its components, benefits, and challenges, as well as, to present the therapeutic model, its competence in multidisciplinary disease management and increased responsiveness to the treatment.