Perceptions of the use of a remote monitoring system in patients receiving palliative care at home.

In remote communities, where frequent face-to-face contact with health professionals may be difficult, the ongoing review and management of symptoms--a fundamental part of good palliative care--can be difficult to achieve. Telecare and other developments in information technology are increasingly being sought as a means of addressing shifting population demographics and rising demands on stretched health services, and may help in providing a system which allows patients to report their symptoms as they are happening. This may be one way of enhancing symptom management and improving quality of care at the end of life. A study testing the feasibility of using mobile phone-based technology (Advanced Symptom Management System in Palliative Care (ASyMSp)) to monitor and manage symptoms reported by patients being cared for at home in the advanced stages of their illness was carried out in two rural communities in the north of Scotland. The results of this study show that the system was usable and acceptable to patients and the health professionals who cared for them.