We tested the effect of mailing informational postcards to patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices who have lost continuous RM connectivity because of a disconnected home monitor.
Objective: To determine the effect on remote monitoring (RM) connectivity of mailing informational postcards to patients with CIEDs who have lost continuous RM connectivity because of a disconnected monitor. Design: Parallel prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT). Setting: Veterans Health Administration. Participants: Randomized selection of all patients with CIEDs whose bedside or smartphone monitor had become disconnected for ≥16 but ≤40 days from the manufacturer's RM service. Exposure: We developed postcards that notified patients about RM disconnection, described RM's clinical benefits, and provided the customer service number of their CIED manufacturer. Twice monthly, we randomized patients to either receive or not receive the postcard. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcome was median time to reconnection.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
2,726
Participants received a postcard with a tailored notice that their home monitor was disconnected from remote monitoring with tips to reconnect and prompts to follow up with their CIED manufacturer or local VA clinic.
San Francisco VA Medical Center
San Francisco, California, United States
Median time to monitor reconnection
Time to reconnection using median survival time and assessing differences in each group through log-rank test. Assess relative difference across two groups through Cox proportional hazards regression.
Time frame: From intervention (mailing) to at least 100 days after intervention.
Binary adherence to next scheduled transmission
Assesses whether a transmission received within 10 days of scheduled transmission assessed using logistic regression.
Time frame: From intervention (mailing) to at least 100 days after intervention.
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