To describe the usage patterns of patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) using a person-centred telehealth and e-health intervention.

An exploratory, descriptive, observational study embedded in the "Person-centred care at a distance (PROTECT)" randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03183817) as part of a process evaluation. Data on intervention use and time spent on the intervention were collected. Descriptive statistics were calculated.

Participants were recruited from nine public primary healthcare facilities located in various areas of Gothenburg, Sweden.

110 patients participating in the intervention group in the PROTECT trial were included. Participants were diagnosed with chronic heart failure (CHF, n=42), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, n=56) or both (n=12). They were 33–93 years old (mean 71 years).

A secondary outcome report on resource use.

The 6-month-long intervention was performed as an add-on to standard care and comprised person-centred telephone support and access to a digital platform. Per-protocol use included co-creation of a health plan via the telephone and use of the digital platform at least once. Forms of use were tailored to the preferences and needs of the patients.

Most intervention activities took place in the first 3 months of the intervention. Most patients used a combination of phone and digital support, spending most of their time using the digital platform. Overall, patients and HCPs spent 6 and 2.5 hours/patient using the intervention, respectively. Of this time, 1.5 hours involved synchronous communication through phone calls, with health-plan calls averaging 77 min.

The intervention usage patterns of patients and HCPs differed. Despite HCPs being accessible when required, patients dedicated most of their time to self-care practices. Based on time distribution data, 15 full-time HCPs could potentially co-create, document and follow-up on health plans for 10 000 patients under study conditions.

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03183817.