Home telecare study for patients with chronic lung disease in the Sydney West Area Health Service.

Information and communication technologies may be used to provide health care services to people living at home. The term "home telecare" has been coined for this service. The elderly and patients with chronic pulmonary conditions, heart disease and diabetes have been thought to be obvious beneficiaries. The evidence base supporting home telecare is growing; however, there is a need for studies of long-term deployment and integration with existing health system processes. We discuss the experiences gained from one such pilot conducted in the Sydney West Area Health Service, which examines the integration of home telecare within the framework of an existing respiratory ambulatory care service. Interim results demonstrate high levels of reliability and positive patient attitude towards use of home monitoring. Clinical staff acceptance levels appeared lower. Effects on health burden, such as hospital admissions and nurse workload, were not significantly altered. The study results have been essential in developing local telecare knowledge within the health care community.