New East-Westfalian Postoperative Therapy Concept: a telemedicine guide for the study of ambulatory rehabilitation of patients after cardiac surgery.

In-hospital rehabilitation can improve recovery of patients after surgery, but also contributes to the high costs of the German health system. A telemedicine-based rehabilitation used in the home as an alternative to in-hospital rehabilitation was evaluated in a pilot study. In an open trial, 170 patients performed a 3-month ambulatory rehabilitation after cardiac surgery.