Designing and Implementing a Telemedicine Program for Patients With Heart Failure at Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Institute: A Mixed Methods Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly expanded telemedicine in healthcare. We designed and implemented a telemedicine program at Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Institute.
 
This sequential mixed-methods study was conducted at Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Institute from April through December 2021 in 3 stages: 1) Findings obtained from a literature review were discussed in expert panel sessions, and a telemedicine program was designed. 2) based on a quasi-experimental method, patients were non-randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups, with the former receiving the telemedicine program for 3 months. 3) The groups were compared concerning the number of hospitalizations, the length of hospital stay, and emergency department visits 3 months after the implementation of the program. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, version 24. The χ2 test was used for qualitative data analysis, and the t and paired samples t tests were employed for quantitative data analysis. ‎
 
The results showed no statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups regarding the number of hospitalizations, the length of hospital stay, and the number of emergency visits after the implementation of the telemedicine program (P > 0.05).
 
The number of hospitalizations, the number of emergency visits, and the length of hospital stay did not significantly differ between the experimental and control groups after the telemedicine program. (Iranian Heart Journal 2024; 25(1): 74-81)