Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Scotland: the possible roles for telehealth
The Scottish Centre for Telehealth was interested in exploring the use of telehealth in the management of COPD in Scotland and commissioned a report by Dr John Haughney and Dr Iain Small.
The report:
- Collates key reported studies
- Details the COPD telehealth projects known to be ongoing in Scotland, with examples of ongoing studies from elsewhere
- Introduces, examines and proposes options for the use of telehealth nationally to help with the management of people with COPD in Scotland.
Remote Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Apart from smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation is the most effective non-pharmacological intervention in the management of COPD and has a strong evidence base to support its use. Work is underway throughout Scotland to consider how telehealth can support pulmonary rehabilitation in an equitable way.
The Haughney and Small report recommended commissioning a pulmonary rehabilitation project to consider the use of remote exercise coupled with real time, remote feedback of the patient’s performance, combined with other established elements of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Early in 2010 the British Lung Foundation, in partnership with 5 NHS Health Boards and the Scottish Centre for Telehealth, was successful in securing funding from the Long Term Conditions Alliance to accelerate the pace and broaden the scope of the existing remote PR programme developed in Tayside.