Telemedicine based CBT-I for Insomnia

Insomnia is a common medical condition that has a deleterious effect on emotional status, health-related quality of life, and has been associated with hospitalizations and all-cause mortality. Recently hospitalized patients who are recuperating in their homes would find it difficult to return for weekly visits with a clinical psychologist and therefore could benefit from the convenience of CBT-I treatment administered in the comfort of their homes via the wireless iPAD and video chat software. In patients who are recently discharged from the hospital, we wish to assess whether telemedicine-based CBT-I is comparable to conventional office-based CBT-I in the efficacy for treating insomnia. Research aiming to improve understanding of whether insomnia represents a modifiable risk factor for re-hospitalizations in patients who are high utilizers of healthcare services is an important area of future research.