Enhancing pandemic response through reliable remote monitoring and patient-centered telemedicine solutions

Introduction:
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for scalable solutions to manage infectious diseases during health crises. Home isolation and remote monitoring for mild cases became essential to prevent healthcare system collapse. StepCare, a remote monitoring software medical device, facilitates symptom monitoring, prioritization, and early intervention.

Methods:
A single-center, prospective study was conducted at the Osakidetza OSI Bidasoa center to evaluate the reliability, usability, and clinical impact of StepCare during the first wave of the pandemic. Thirty-five symptomatic COVID-19 patients (51% men; 49% women; mean age: 34.5) were monitored for 7.5 days. Clinical safety was evaluated by comparing StepCare's severity categorizations with clinical team assessments across 228 cases. Usability and satisfaction were measured through in-app data and post-study surveys with patients and clinicians.

Results:

StepCare demonstrated clinical safety and reliability, showing a conservative approach to its severity categorizations in 100% of cases and aligning with the clinical team’s assessments in 90.4% of cases. The patients rated the system as a intuitive, suitable, and safe tool, scoring it 9.12/10 for usability and satisfaction, with an 86% adherence rate and 83% recommending it. From a public health perspective, StepCare significantly improved workflow efficiency by reducing the time required for patient management by 25% and decreasing the associated costs by 84%. The direct cost savings included a 100% reduction in home visits (EUR 144.74) and patient-initiated calls (EUR 17.41) and a 33% reduction in follow-up calls by healthcare staff (EUR 50.79 to EUR33.86), resulting in a total cost drop from EUR 212.94 to EUR 33.86 per patient.

Conclusions:

StepCare highlights telemedicine's role in disaster medicine, supporting remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients, improving clinical decisions, and optimizing the resource allocation while ensuring patient safety. Its high usability and satisfaction among both patients and clinicians make it a scalable solution for health emergencies. This study confirms its reliability, ease of use, and efficiency over standard care.