Automated weight monitoring in chronic heart failure: the excluded majority.

We interviewed nurses and patients with heart failure who were participating in a research trial of home telemonitoring in which weight data were monitored automatically by a call centre. A total of 35 interviews were conducted and the transcripts were analysed thematically. The results indicated that nurses disagreed about the role of weight monitoring and the practicalities of telemonitoring in their daily practice, indicating that the process was idiosyncratic to each user.

Off-site expert support for nurses undertaking ECGs in primary care.

One of the aims of the Department of Health is to respond to patient needs by considering how services can be delivered in more innovative ways, including more services being provided in primary care and increased activities being undertaken by nursing staff. These activities may have previously been undertaken by the GPs, or patients would be sent elsewhere, such as the local hospital, for tests/investigations. Some general practices are already using cardiac telemetry while others are awaiting feedback from system users before deciding whether to purchase services from independent providers.