CONTECI Program: A New Way to Control Peripheral Arterial Disease Using New Technologies

The current increase in chronic diseases calls for changes to the health system. It is necessary to promote expert patient in chronic disease. The expansion of new technologies gives us new tools to face new challenges, providing efficiency, expertise and autonomy. The characteristics of peripheral arterial disease make possible to promote expert patient and the self-management. In order to bring these concepts together the telemedicine program was created to promote expert patient for increasing the quality of life and satisfaction of patients and improving the efficiency of the health system. Methods: Randomized clinical trial on patients with peripheral arterial disease in intermittent claudication grade. They were randomized into two groups: intervention arm (IA) using CONTECI program for self-managing and control arm (CA), followed as usual vascular visits.

The intervention arm (IA), telehealth control, were followed up by himself helped by CONTECI program. They have to use every three months and if somethings was wrong the patient have to send mail to the doctor. The intervention consisted to use the CONTECI program (included test) for the following of the patients.

The Control Arm (CA) were followed up as usual every 6 months in outpatient vascular visits in the clinical hospital. If some patient have a complications or and emergency they have to do usual protocol, go to primary care or emergency.

The intervention group patients were not followed by the usual protocol, but it used the program CONTECI (and test different directions) to guide the patient monitoring. Both groups used antiplatelets and statines as usual protocol (these were not the interventions) We did not use drugs or device for the intervention, only a Telemedicine programme

satisfaction. Analogical scale 0-100. To compare the satisfaction in the new model control and the model before

Clinical features. Pateint who turned to grade 3 or 4 of Le Fontaine classification, number of surgeries.

Health resources consumption: rate of Emergency visits, scheduled visits, extra visits, Mail per participant

Inclusion Criteria: Patient with confirmed PAD Over 18 years old Informed Consent Internet Access (patient or family) Spanish or Catalan fluidity Exclusion Criteria: Cognitive impairment Previous patency arterial surgery Sever chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (GOLD III/ IV) Patients with decreased survival of 12 months