2 June 2009
A Monash University-led study has shown that heart disease patients received a great deal of benefit from advice and support given over the telephone compared to those patients who did not receive telephone support.
Patients living in rural and remote areas of Australia who had access to the "Chronic Heart failure Assistance by Telephone" (CHAT) service were one-third less likely to die or need hospital treatment.
CHAT was an automated telephone answering service supplemented by qualified cardiac nurses, specialising in heart health and patient care. Patients' medication, general health, day-to-day routines and their heart condition were regularly monitored and patients encouraged to undertake at-home check-ups and self-assessment surveys.
136 GP's were recruited to support the year-long study, which involved more than 400 patients from around Australia.
The results of the study were released today at a European Heart Failure Association meeting in Nice, France by one of the study's Principal Investigators, Professor Henry Krum of Monash University's Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics.
Professor Krum said it was well documented that rural and remote Australian heart patients were more likely to have heart disease but to have less access to accurate diagnostic techniques and heart specialists and receive fewer life-saving therapies than their city-based counterparts.
He said the study into the effectiveness of CHAT showed that telephone support for people living outside city areas was valuable in the health support process for people with heart conditions.
"The CHAT study evaluated whether supporting them via frequent automated telephone contact and additional advice provided by trained cardiac nurses was superior to usual care for these patients. The study demonstrated significant reductions in hospitalisation for any cause and a highly significant 35 per cent reduction in death or hospitalisation," Professor Krum said.
"The new data offers hope for patients who have been disadvantaged by their location in rural and remote regions of Australia. The approach used in this disease can also be potentially applied to other chronic disease states which require ongoing care of the patient".
"We believe these results should encourage health care administrators to consider supporting these services in rural and remote Australia, not just for managing heart failure but also for other chronic diseases," he said.
Professor Krum will be available for interview in Europe (8 hours behind) on +61 417 325834. Alternatively, Dr Andrea Driscoll, study co-ordinator of CHAT, will be available on +61 3 9903 0552.
For more information contact Samantha Blair, Media and Communications, +61 3 9903 434841 or +61 439 013 951. | 
