Page 148 - Exploring the Potential of Self-Monitoring Kidney Function After Transplantation - Céline van Lint

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Chapter 6
that some patients might be inclined to select more favourable values for registration, which could leave early signs of graft failure unnoticed. Further, the majority of patients did not register their measured values on the day of measurement, but saved up measurements over several days to register them all at once. This so-called delayed registration was the main reason for patients not having followed up the advice to contact the hospital in case of a significantly increased level of creatinine.
This study is part of a larger project in which the safety and usability of self-monitoring kidney function after transplantation supported by a SMSS is investigated. The current results showing that patients seem inclined to select more favourable creatinine values for registration and to postpone registration suggest a challenge to the safety of self-monitoring. This should be well-considered when designing self-monitoring care systems, for example by ensuring that self-measured data are transferred automatically to a SMSS. Using devices that can transfer data automatically and providing active feedback to patients (e.g. by sending text messages or emails) instead of having patients to log on to a website will eliminate the issues of data-selection and delayed registration, and as such contribute to the safety of self-monitoring kidney function after transplantation.