OBJECTIVES: There has been enormous interest in the potential benefit, primarily around decreased medical resource use, of the introduction of telehealth home monitoring systems (THMS) for chronic disease management.  Widespread adoption has nevertheless been slow due to a lack of information on the financial implications of implementation. THMS requires a substantial initial investment which in a time of budget cuts needs economic justification. The objective of this study was to provide an estimate of the potential short-term financial implications of introducing the Care Innovations™ Guide THMS for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) in a typical PCT within the UK.  METHODS: A one-year budget impact model was developed looking at key financial drivers of CHF care including GP visits, unplanned hospitalisation, ambulance time, etc. The model assessed the impact on these costs after the introduction a THMS package for a PCT with a population of 500,000, assuming the initial THMS uptake would be 30% of CHF patients. Population and disease incidence and prevalence data for England were taken from the Quality and Outcomes Framework 2009-10. Average costs per unit of medical resource use, amount of resource use per year for a typical chronic CHF patient receiving standard care and estimates of the impact of the THMS on resource use were estimated from published literature. RESULTS: The model estimated that the introduction of THMS required an initial investment of £9,440,567 but yielded a return of 2% (£158,812) within one year. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of THMS requires considerable initial investment; however this model suggests that this is offset within a very short time-frame due to reductions in medical resource usage and is expected to lead to substantial savings over the medium-term.  This should encourage decision-makers to seriously consider moving from small pilot studies to more widespread implementation of THMS.