An unannounced investigation will take place on Thursday in the emergency departments of 38 hospitals across the Netherlands. People who have entered the emergency room (ER) are asked what they think of home monitoring. The research is led by Maastricht UMC+ and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).
Those who end up in the emergency room are often admitted to hospital, the researchers explain. But patients can also be monitored from home. That saves another bed in the hospital, which is already getting busier.
The researchers want to find out what patients think about such home treatment. “We ask them if they would like to and are able to go home with aids,” explains Davy van Dam. He is a trainee acute medicine internist at the MUMC+. “We also ask them about the possibilities they have in-house for this and whether they feel capable and fit enough to handle monitoring equipment.” Because whether home treatment is possible depends on the disease, but also on whether patients feel safe and whether they can operate the equipment they are given.
The questions are presented to patients who end up in an emergency room with an acute condition on Thursday and people who were admitted to hospital a day earlier after entering the emergency room. The opinion of doctors is also included in the study. The results are expected next summer.