The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: centre and patient experiences
Monika Gawałko, David Duncker, Martin Manninger, Rachel M J van der Velden, Astrid N L Hermans, D V M Verhaert, Laurent Pison, Ron Pisters, Martin E W Hemels, Arian Sultan, Daniel Steven, Dhiraj Gupta, Hein Heidbüchel, Afzal Sohaib, Petra Wijtvliet, Robert G Tieleman, Henri Gruwez, Julian Chun, Boris Schmidt, John J Keaney, Patrick Müller, Piotr Lodziński, Emma Svennberg, O. Hoekstra, Ward P.J. Jansen, Lien Desteghe, Tom De Potter, David R. Tomlinson, Lis Neubeck, Harry J.G.M. Crijns, Nikki A H A Pluymaekers, Jeroen Hendriks, Dominik Linz, the TeleCheck-AF investigators
Abstract
AIMS: TeleCheck-AF is a multicentre international project initiated to maintain care delivery for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during COVID-19 through teleconsultations supported by an on-demand photoplethysmography-based heart rate and rhythm monitoring app (FibriCheck®). We describe the characteristics, inclusion rates, and experiences from participating centres according the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure as well as characteristics and experiences from recruited patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three surveys exploring centre characteristics (n = 25), centre experiences (n = 23), and patient experiences (n = 826) were completed. Self-reported patient characteristics were obtained from the app. Most centres were academic (64%) and specialized public cardiology/district hospitals (36%). Majority of the centres had AF outpatient clinics (64%) and only 36% had AF ablation clinics. The time required to start patient inclusion and total number of included patients in the project was comparable for centres experienced (56%) or inexperienced in mHealth use. Within 28 weeks, 1930 AF patients were recruited, mainly for remote AF control (31% of patients) and AF ablation follow-up (42%). Average inclusion rate was highest during the lockdown restrictions and reached a steady state at a lower level after easing the restrictions (188 vs. 52 weekly recruited patients). Majority (>80%) of the centres reported no problems during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach. Recruited patients [median age 64 (55-71), 62% male] agreed that the FibriCheck® app was easy to use (94%). CONCLUSION: Despite different health care settings and mobile health experiences, the TeleCheck-AF approach could be set up within an extremely short time and easily used in different European centres during COVID-19.