Cardiac remote monitoring in France

Abstract

The increase in number of implanted cardiac medical devices and the announced decrease in number of cardiologists have led to remote monitoring being considered as a pivotal tool for patient follow-up. For 10 years, remote monitoring has been the subject of multiple clinical studies. In these studies, reliability and clinical efficacy have been demonstrated, but the use of remote monitoring remains quite limited in France compared with other countries. To explain this delay in uptake, some organizational difficulties and the lack of reimbursement of remote monitoring are often mentioned. The results of medico-economic studies might provide answers about the value of remote monitoring and enable the supervisory authorities to define how its use will be financed. This review provides a global view of remote monitoring in France, and covers the principle, clinical efficacy, organizational and regulatory aspects, and medico-economic data.

Keywords: Cardiac remote monitoring; Défibrillateur implantable; Implantable defibrillator; Pacemaker; Télécardiologie.