Nurse Telephone Support and Home Telemonitoring Are Cost-Effective in Chronic Heart Failure Management

Published Jul 23, 2018

Value in Health study supports telehealth options in The Netherlands

Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—July 23, 2018—Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR (the professional society for health economics and outcomes research), announced today the publication of a study demonstrating that both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring are cost-effective solutions in managing chronic heart failure. The report, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Telehealth: A Comparison Between Home Telemonitoring, Nurse Telephone Support, and Usual Care in Chronic Heart Failure Management, was published in the July 2018 issue of Value in Health. This modeling study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring for managing patients with chronic heart failure, compared with usual care. Usual care comprised a patient management plan which, upon discharge from hospital, was sent to the patient’s primary care physician, who was asked to implement it. Nurse telephone support was managed as described for usual care except that patients were contacted by telephone each month by a specialist heart failure nurse to assess their symptoms and current medication. Patients on home telemonitoring received all necessary equipment and were asked to take measurements on a set schedule, thus monitoring and automatically reporting the patient’s weight, blood pressure, and heart rate and rhythm twice daily. Study results demonstrated that both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring improved the survival of patients in all classes of heart failure and were cost-effective in comparison with usual care. Furthermore, nurse telephone support surpassed home telemonitoring in all but the most severe cases of heart failure. “Technological evolution and new methods of providing telemonitoring have significantly improved the cost-effectiveness of providing these services to a broader range of chronically ill patients,” said lead author Andrija Grustam, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. “Consequently, we advise governments and other organizations to consider both nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring as viable solutions to support patients with chronic heart failure.”

###

ABOUT ISPOR ISPOR, the professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field. Web: www.ispor.org | LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ISPOR-LIn | Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISPORorg (@ISPORorg) | YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ISPORorg/videos | Facebook: www.facebook.com/ISPORorg | Instagram: www.instagram.com/ISPORorg   ABOUT VALUE IN HEALTH Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) is an international, indexed journal that publishes original research and health policy articles that advance the field of health economics and outcomes research to help healthcare leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal’s 2017 impact factor score is 5.494. Value in Health is ranked 3rd among 94 journals in healthcare sciences and services, 3rd among 79 journals in health policy and services, and 6th among 353 journals in economics. Value in Health is a monthly publication that circulates to more than 10,000 readers around the world. Web: www.ispor.org/valueinhealth_index.asp | Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISPORJournals (@ISPORjournals)

Related Stories

ISPOR Task Force Addresses Critical Gap in Surrogate Endpoint Guidance

May 28, 2026

Value in Health, announced the publication of an ISPOR Good Practices Report providing guidance on the use of surrogate endpoint evaluation methods in health technology assessment (HTA) decision making. The report, “Methods for Evaluation of Surrogate Endpoints for HTA Decision Making: A Good Practices Report of an ISPOR Task Force,” was published in the May 2026 issue of Value in Health.

How Is Health Valued in the United Kingdom? We Finally Have a Better Answer

May 27, 2026

Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, announced today the publication of a pair of companion articles that together establish both the methodological foundation of the first definitive UK value set for the EQ-5D-5L and the practical implications of adopting it—thus equipping health technology assessment decision makers with a UK value set suitable for informing policy. The articles were featured in the May 2026 issue of Value in Health.

From Promise to Proof: Strengthening the Evidence Base for Digital Health Technologies

Apr 28, 2026

Value in Health announced the publication of a special themed section of research papers that advances evidence and methods for evaluating the real-world value of digital health technologies.
Your browser is out-of-date

ISPOR recommends that you update your browser for more security, speed and the best experience on ispor.org. Update my browser now

×