Informational Postcards Increase Engagement with Remote Monitoring Among Veterans with Pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: a Stepped-Wedge Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Remote monitoring (RM) of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) reduces morbidity and mortality. However, many patients are not adherent to RM.

Objective: To test the effect of informational postcards on RM adherence.

Design/patients: Stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial among Veterans with pacemakers and ICDs.

Intervention: In wave 1, Veterans who had sent at least 1 transmission within the past 2 years but had become non-adherent were randomly assigned to receive a postcard or no postcard. Those receiving postcards were randomized to 1 of 2 messages: (1) a"warning" postcard describing risks of non-adherence or (2) an "encouraging" postcard describing benefits of adherence. In wave 2, Veterans who had either not received a postcard in wave 1 or had since become non-adherent were mailed a postcard (again, randomized to 1 of 2 messages). Patients who did not send an RM transmission within 1 month were mailed a second, identical postcard.

Main measures: Transmission within 70 days.

Key results: Overall, 6351 Veterans were included. In waves 1 and 2, postcards were mailed to 5657 Veterans (2821 "warning" messages and 2836 "encouraging" messages). Wave 1 included 2178 Veterans as controls (i.e., not mailed a postcard), some of whom received a postcard in wave 2 if they remained non-adherent. In wave 2, 3473 postcards were sent. Of the 5657 patients mailed a postcard, 2756 (48.7%) sent an RM transmission within 70 days, compared to 530 (24.3%) of 2178 controls (absolute difference 24.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 22.2%, 26.6%). Of those who sent a transmission, 71.8% did so after the first postcard. Transmission rates at 70 days did not significantly differ between "warning" and "encouraging" messages (odds ratio 1.04, 95% CI 0.92, 1.18).

Conclusions: Informational postcards led to a 24.4% absolute increase in adherence at 70 days among Veterans with pacemakers and ICDs who were non-adherent to RM.

Keywords: ICD; adherence; implantable cardioverter-defibrillators; pacemakers; remote monitoring.