<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec><h3>Purpose</h3><p>Heart rhythm disorders (HRD) are often present in patients visiting their family physician (FP). Dealing with their problems is not always simple, efficient and cost effective. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature about the use and experience of telecardiology in patients experiencing HRD.</p></sec><sec><h3>Methods</h3><p>We conducted a review of literature in PubMed biographical databases (MeSH thesaurus), Web of Science and Cochrane, between 1995 and 2019. We included original articles in English that describe the use of telecardiology at primary and secondary healthcare levels. Exclusion criteria are those publications that discuss heart failure or observation of the activity of pacemakers or defibrillators and the age of patients under 18 years. A total of 19 papers met the inclusion criteria, thirteen of them were original scientific articles and we included them in the analysis.</p></sec><sec><h3>Results</h3><p>Use of telemedicine can shorten the time from diagnosis to the necessary treatment (2/13), telemedicine can reduce mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (4/13), it can shorten the time to diagnose atrial fibrillations (4/13), it can help determine the diagnosis for patients complaining about heart rhythm disorders which were not detected on the standard ECG recording (2/13) and can also help identify cardiac causes for syncope or collapse (2/13). All studies have confirmed that the use of telecardiology significantly reduces the number of unnecessary referrals to a cardiologist or hospitalization, and shortens the time needed to treat patients with life-threatening conditions.</p></sec><sec><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The use of telecardiological techniques increases the quality and safety of work in managing patients with cardiovascular disease in FP practice. Usage of telecardiologic devices can also save money and bridge the gap between the primary and secondary healthcare levels.</p></sec></abstract>

PurposeHeart rhythm disorders (HRD) are often present in patients visiting their family physician (FP). Dealing with their problems is not always simple, efficient and cost effective. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature about the use and experience of telecardiology in patients experiencing HRD.MethodsWe conducted a review of literature in PubMed biographical databases (MeSH thesaurus), Web of Science and Cochrane, between 1995 and 2019. We included original articles in English that describe the use of telecardiology at primary and secondary healthcare levels. Exclusion criteria are those publications that discuss heart failure or observation of the activity of pacemakers or defibrillators and the age of patients under 18 years. A total of 19 papers met the inclusion criteria, thirteen of them were original scientific articles and we included them in the analysis.ResultsUse of telemedicine can shorten the time from diagnosis to the necessary treatment (2/13), telemedicine can reduce mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (4/13), it can shorten the time to diagnose atrial fibrillations (4/13), it can help determine the diagnosis for patients complaining about heart rhythm disorders which were not detected on the standard ECG recording (2/13) and can also help identify cardiac causes for syncope or collapse (2/13). All studies have confirmed that the use of telecardiology significantly reduces the number of unnecessary referrals to a cardiologist or hospitalization, and shortens the time needed to treat patients with life-threatening conditions.ConclusionThe use of telecardiological techniques increases the quality and safety of work in managing patients with cardiovascular disease in FP practice. Usage of telecardiologic devices can also save money and bridge the gap between the primary and secondary healthcare levels.

The Role of Telecardiology in Dealing with Patients with Cardiac Rhythm Disorders in Family Medicine – Systematic Review

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

VLOGA TELEKARDIOLOGIJE PRI OBRAVNAVI BOLNIKOV Z MOTNJAMI SRČNEGA RITMA V DRUŽINSKI MEDICINI – PREGLED LITERATURE

PurposeHeart rhythm disorders (HRD) are often present in patients visiting their family physician (FP). Dealing with their problems is not always simple,...

The Role of Telecardiology in Dealing with Patients with Cardiac Rhythm Disorders in Family Medicine – Systematic Review

Article Category: Review article

Published Online: Apr 06, 2020

Page range: 108 - 116

Received: Nov 23, 2019

Accepted: Mar 02, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2020-0014

Keywords
telecardiology, primary healthcare, cardiac rhythm disorders, cost effectiveness

© 2020 Staša Vodička et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Role of Telecardiology in Dealing with Patients with Cardiac Rhythm Disorders in Family Medicine – Systematic Review

Article Category: Review article

Published Online: Apr 06, 2020

Page range: 108 - 116

Received: Nov 23, 2019

Accepted: Mar 02, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2020-0014

Keywordstelecardiology, primary healthcare, cardiac rhythm disorders, cost effectiveness

© 2020 Staša Vodička et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
telecardiology, primary healthcare, cardiac rhythm disorders, cost effectiveness