Remote monitoring of heart failure patients.

"The Teledactyl (Tele, far; Dactyl, finger--from the Greek) is a future instrument by which it will be possible for us to 'feel at a distance.' This idea is not at all impossible, for the instrument can be built today with means available right now. It is simply the well known telautograph, translated into radio terms, with additional refinements. The doctor of the future, by means of this instrument, will be able to feel his patient, as it were, at a distance...The doctor manipulates his controls, which are then manipulated at the patient's room in exactly the same manner. The doctor sees what is going on in the patient's room by means of a television screen." -Hugo Gernsback, Science and Invention Magazine, February 1925 Heart failure continues to be a major burden on our health care system. As the number of patients with heart failure increases, the cost of hospitalization alone is contributing significantly to the overall cost of this disease. Readmission rate and hospital length of stay are emerging as quality markers of heart failure care along with reimbursement policies that force hospitals to optimize these outcomes. Apart from maintaining quality assurance, the disease process of heart failure per-se requires demanding and close attention to vitals, diet, and medication compliance to prevent acute decompensation episodes. Remote patient monitoring is morphing into a key disease management strategy to optimize care for heart failure. Innovative implantable technologies to monitor intracardiac hemodynamics also are evolving, which potentially could offer better and substantial parameters to monitor.