Mónica Seidi highlights pioneering project for remote monitoring of chronic patients at HSEIT - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

The Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, visited the Santo Espírito Hospital of Terceira Island (HSEIT) on Friday, where she attended the launch of the telemonitoring project for patients with chronic conditions. This initiative improves access to healthcare, enabling patients to be monitored remotely, with greater proximity, comfort and safety.

Developed by HSEIT in collaboration with the Regional Directorate for Health and with technological support from Hope Care Health, this project will enable the remote monitoring of patients with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), using connected medical devices and a certified clinical platform.

In the first phase, 100 patients will be included – 50 with heart failure and 50 with COPD – who will be monitored by HSEIT Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine teams.

During her visit, Mónica Seidi highlighted that “this project embodies the Regional Government’s vision of bringing healthcare closer to the people, using technological innovation to address the specific challenges of an archipelago region."

The government official highlighted that this initiative falls within the strategy to develop telemedicine in the Azores. It is one of the key measures supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), contributing to improved access to healthcare and reducing unnecessary travel for patients.

She added that the goal is to gradually extend this telemonitoring model to the other regional hospitals, thereby establishing a more localised and efficient response.

Mónica Seidi also emphasised that this project will lead to a shift “from a predominantly response-based approach to a more preventative, continuous and integrated one, supporting patients in their daily lives and facilitating earlier intervention whenever necessary.”

The Regional Secretary also pointed out that around 45,000 teleconsultations have been carried out in the Autonomous Region of the Azores over the last two and a half years, thereby avoiding around 45,000 patient trips to healthcare facilities.

"More than just savings, we are talking about greater comfort for patients, fewer constraints for families and a better organisation of the healthcare services’ response," stated Mónica Seidi.

The home telemonitoring project is already up and running. The medical and nursing teams in the Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine departments at HSEIT have received specific training. The first patients have already begun remote monitoring, using a set of devices that allows them to take clinical measurements at home and transmit this information in real time to the care teams.

With this model, clinical teams can regularly monitor patients’ progress, identify warning signs at an early stage and intervene sooner where necessary, thereby strengthening continuity of care and coordination among doctors, nurses and patients.