The COVID SMART study, a randomized, controlled clinical trial, compared the results of 607 Covid-19 patients who received either standard care or additional telemedical care via smartwatch monitoring and a medical hotline connection. While 9.6 percent of patients in the control group were hospitalized or unexpectedly visited the emergency room within 30 days of infection, this figure was only 6.9 percent in the intervention group. Despite this difference, the difference was not statistically significant.

However, the study showed a significant decrease in the use of outpatient emergency services in the telemedicine group. These results suggest that telemedicine could be particularly beneficial for less severely ill Covid-19 patients by reducing unnecessary visits to the emergency room while providing continuous monitoring.

"Our results suggest that telemedicine can be a valuable tool to improve the care of Covid-19 patients and at the same time reduce the burden on the healthcare system," says study leader and last author of the study, PD Dr. Moritz Sinner from the Medical Clinic I at LMU Klinikum München. "Particularly noteworthy is the reduced use of the emergency room, which indicates a benefit for patients who are not seriously ill but still need to be monitored," adds Dr. med. Aenne von Falkenhausen, the first author of the paper and specialist at the Medical Clinic I of the LMU Hospital.

The COVID SMART study underlines the importance of innovative approaches in medical care, especially in times of a pandemic. The support of the DZHK enabled a comprehensive investigation of this potentially life-saving technology, which could play a crucial role in medical care in the future.

Note:

PD Dr. Moritz Sinner and the team from Medical Clinic I will be presenting the clinic's services, including telemedicine, at the "50 Years of LMU Klinikum Großhadern" open day. This will take place on Saturday, September 14, from 10 am to 4 pm.