Staff Physician, Director of VA National ICD Surveillance Center, SFVAMC
Associate Professor of Medicine, UCSF

Email: edmund.keung@va.gov

Internal cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) have been shown to be highly effective in improving overall mortality and preventing sudden cardiac death, which affects more than 400,000 patients annually. Recent technology enables remote transmission of comprehensive ICD performance and therapy history by telephone. In 2003, Dr. Keung received funding to establish the National ICD Surveillance Center at SFVAMC in order to offer this new leading-edge technology to all ICD patients and healthcare professionals in the VA Health Administration.  Since establishment of this program, patient enrollment has already reached 3,000 from 80 VA facilities.  It is the largest remote ICD monitoring program in the world and the first of its kind for any healthcare provider group. The VA has become the world leader in remote device monitoring.  Utilization of VA facilities and patient travel time have been significantly reduced.  The number of clinic visits has been reduced in some centers by as much as 75 percent, since patients can transmit their ICD data from home.  This program has also provided an excellent example of how clinical care and research can seamlessly work together to offer the best care for our veterans. With the largest ICD database in the world, this research will help formulate ICD healthcare policy and enhance clinical care for the entire United States.

Davis N, Xue Y, Roberts L, Massie B, Keung E. 2005. Remote monitoring of implantable cardioverter defibrillators: Experience from the VA National ICD Surveillance Program.  Heart Rhythm 2:S244.

Keung E, Xue Y. 2005. Remote Web-based Device Monitoring. New Arrhythmia Technologies, ed. P. Wang, Blackwell Publishing, Chapter 22.