Technology-enhanced practice for patients with chronic cardiac disease: Home implementation and evaluation

ObjectiveThis 3-year field experiment engaged 60 nurses and 282 patients in the design and evaluation of an innovative home-care nursing model, referred to as technology-enhanced practice (TEP).MethodsNurses using TEP augmented the usual care with a web-based resource (HeartCareII) that provided patients with self-management information, self-monitoring tools, and messaging services.ResultsPatients exposed to TEP demonstrated better quality of life and self-management of chronic heart disease during the first 4 weeks, and were no more likely than patients in usual care to make unplanned visits to a clinician or hospital. Both groups demonstrated the same long-term symptom management and achievements in health status.ConclusionThis project provides new evidence that the purposeful creation of patient-tailored web resources within a hospital portal is possible; that nurses have difficulty with modifying their practice routines, even with a highly-tailored web resource; and that the benefits of this intervention are more discernable in the early postdischarge stages of care.