A large clinical study demonstrates for the first time that tele-rehabilitation keeps heart patients longer out of the hospital and saves costs for health care. This study was coordinated by Jessa Hospital in Hasselt and in collaboration with St Francis Hospital in Heusden, Hospital East-Limburg in Genk and Hasselt University. The studie was funded by the Flemish goverment, Flanders’ Care.

Cardiovascular diseases cause in Europe each year more than 4 million deaths and are one of the main causes of death worldwide. After a heart attack, the patient often needs to adjust his lifestyle to avoid relapse. Only a minority of heart patients manage to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the long term. This is the first large scientific study that shows that remote rehabilitation or tele-rehabilitation provides an answer to this problem. And besides the medical benefits and the improved QOL of the patients, the study shows cost savings for the healthcare budget.

Press:

Jessa website

TVL movie

The results of the study were published in several scientific papers:

Effect of comprehensive cardiac telerehabilitation on one-year cardiovascular rehospitalization rate, medical costs and quality of life: A cost-effectiveness analysis

Medium-Term Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Internet-Based and Patient-Specific Telerehabilitation Program With Text Messaging Support for Cardiac Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial

Telerehab III: a multi-center randomized, controlled trial investigating the long-term effectiveness of a comprehensive cardiac telerehabilitation program – Rationale and study design