Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare最新文献

Introduction: In-person cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce self-reported anxiety in older adults. However, studies are limited for remote CBT. We assessed the effectiveness of remote CBT in mitigating self-reported anxiety in older adults.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis based on a literature search of PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and Cochrane databases up to March 31, 2021, for randomized controlled clinical trials comparing the effectiveness of remote CBT versus non-CBT controls on mitigating self-reported anxiety in older adults. We calculated within-group pre-to-post-treatment standardized mean difference using Cohen's d, obtained the difference between a remote CBT group and a non-CBT control group as our effect size for cross-study comparison, and conducted a random-effects meta-analysis. Changes in scores on self-reported anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, or Penn State Worry Questionnaire - Abbreviated), and self-reported depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item Scale or Beck Depression Inventory) were primary and secondary outcomes, respectively.

Results: Six eligible studies, containing 633 participants with a pooled mean age of 66.6 years, were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. There was a significant mitigating effect of intervention on self-reported anxiety, favoring remote CBT over non-CBT controls (between-group effect size: -0.63; 95% CI: -0.99 to -0.28). We also found a significant mitigating effect of intervention on self-reported depressive symptoms (between-group effect size: -0.74; 95% CI: -1.24 to -0.25).

Discussion: Remote CBT is more effective in reducing self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms than non-CBT control in older adults.

Introduction: Telehealth has the potential to address health disparities experienced by Indigenous people, especially in remote areas. This scoping review aims to map and characterize the existing evidence on telehealth use by Indigenous people and explore the key concepts for effective use, cultural safety, and building therapeutic relationships.

Methods: A search for published and gray literature, written in English, and published between 2000 and 2022 was completed in 17 electronic databases. Two reviewers independently screened retrieved records for eligibility. For included articles, data were extracted, categorized, and analyzed. Synthesis of findings was performed narratively.

Results: A total of 321 studies were included. The most popular type of telehealth used was mHealth (44%), and the most common health focuses of the telehealth interventions were mental health (26%) and diabetes/diabetic retinopathy (13%). Frequently described barriers to effective telehealth use included concerns about privacy/confidentiality and limited internet availability; meanwhile, telehealth-usage facilitators included cultural relevance and community engagement. Although working in collaboration with Indigenous communities was the most frequently reported way to achieve cultural safety, 40% of the studies did not report Indigenous involvement. Finally, difficulty to establish trusting therapeutic relationships was a major concern raised about telehealth, and evidence suggests that having the first visit-in-person is a potential way to address this issue.

Conclusion: This comprehensive review identified critical factors to guide the development of culturally-informed telehealth services to meet the needs of Indigenous people and to achieve equitable access and positive health outcomes.

Introduction: The electronic collection of patient data is used for a large variety of conditions. The boundaries of its use in initial diagnostics and the extent to which it can replace specialist contact, however, remain vague. Our newly developed virtual diagnostic process for common sleep disorders involves digital questionnaire administration, neurophysiological diagnostic studies, and virtual consultation with a sleep specialist. In this study, we evaluated patients' virtual diagnostic process experiences as part of a full evaluation of this process.

Methods: Patients who completed the virtual diagnostic process participated in online semi-structured interviews based on the following criteria: age ≥ 18 years, no obvious cognitive deficits, and access to the internet. Patients who did not complete the virtual diagnostic process were contacted by telephone and given the opportunity to explain why.

Results: Of the 24 patients included, 14 completed the virtual diagnostic process. Most participants understood the concept of the virtual diagnostic process, could navigate the process, and felt that the combined use of a questionnaire and virtual consultation was meaningful. Although participants could provide information as free text, the simplified closed questions, required for diagnostic classification, triggered feelings of insecurity and the inability to sufficiently describe symptoms, thereby evoking concern. All patients deemed the complementary personal contact important.

Discussion: The findings demonstrate that the virtual diagnostic process is feasible and highly accepted by most patients. However, (virtual) personal (telephone or video) contact is mandatory to address patients' concerns. The virtual diagnostic process application evaluated here likely represents the outer limit of the use of electronic data collection in virtual diagnostic procedures.

Introduction: COVID-19 has led to delays in providing healthcare in both emergency and non-emergency settings, especially in surgical subspecialties which rely heavily on referrals and in-person visits. Without an established telehealth infrastructure, many otorhinolaryngological departments experienced decreases in consultations. Telemedicine has attempted to bridge the gap between pre- and post-pandemic periods by creating a safe avenue of communication between otorhinolaryngologists and patients. This review hopes to address the accuracy of telemedicine in patient diagnosis and management.

Methods: Searches were conducted since study conception until June 30, 2022, on multiple databases including PubMed, SCOPUS, and CINAHL for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Diagnostic accuracy, management accuracy, kappa, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were meta-analyzed by comparing virtual visits to in-person visits (gold standard).

Results: Nineteen studies were included in this review. A total of 1518 patients were included across all studies. When comparing virtual visits against in-person visits, accurate diagnosis was made in 86.2% [82.1,89.9, I² = 73.5%, P < 0.0001] of patients and management accuracy was 91.5% [86.1,95.7, I² = 81.8%, P < 0.0001] when treating patients. Kappa value determining interrater reliability was 0.8 [0.7,0.9, I² = 81.8%, P < 0.0001].

Conclusion: Our data suggest that diagnostic and management concordance is above 80% when comparing diagnosis and management strategies in patients who underwent both telehealth and in-person visits with an otorhinolaryngologist. In uncomplicated patients, telehealth might be a reliable source for diagnosis and management however, in-person consultation is likely still required for pathologies in which physical exam, imaging or procedural elements represent a vital component of the work-up.

Objectives: To analyze the impact of different patterns of healthcare delivery on remission of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with targeted therapies during the first wave (2020) and second/third waves (2021) of the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (2019).

Methods: In this observational real-life study, data from RA patients treated with biologic or targeted synthetic drugs were extracted from a longitudinal registry. Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) was analyzed in the same period from the 22nd of February to the 18th of May for three consecutive years. These three periods were characterized by different patterns of healthcare delivery: (1) before the pandemic (2019) only in-person visits, (2) during the first wave (2020) both in-person visits and telehealth, and (3) during the second/third waves (2021) only in-person visits. A generalized linear model with the binomial error was fitted to evaluate the difference in the proportion of patients in CDAI remission. Quantile regression was used to compare the median of CDAI in difficult-to-treat (D2T) patients.

Results: In the three periods, we included 407, 450, and 540 RA patients respectively. The percentages of patients in CDAI remission were similar in the three periods (prevalence ratio 1.07, p value 0.423 between 2020 and 2019, and 1.01, p-value 0.934 between 2021 and 2019). The CDAI remission rate was 40.55% (N = 163), 43.18% (N = 155) and 40.82% (N = 220) in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Among our cohort of D2T patients, CDAI remission was similar across the three periods (N = 30, 22.22%; N = 27, 23.68%; and N = 34, 21.52% respectively).

Conclusion: Although the pandemic has imposed changes in our healthcare delivery, these different strategies seem to be effective in ensuring satisfactory management of RA treated with targeted therapies. The approaches modulated in the context of the different periods have been a feasible compensation for ensuring disease control even in D2T patients.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we identified a gap in adequate discharge counseling for COVID-19 patients in the Emergency Department. This was due to high patient volumes and lack of patient education regarding a novel disease. Medical students were also restricted from clinical areas due to safety concerns, compromising their clinical experience. We piloted a novel program in which medical students served as virtual discharge counselors for COVID-19 patients via teleconference. We aimed to demonstrate an impact on patient care by examining the patient bounce back rate as well as assessing medical student education and experience.

Methods: This program was piloted in a tertiary care Emergency Department. Medical student volunteers served as virtual discharge counselors. Students were trained in discharge counseling with a standardized protocol and a discharge script. Eligible patients for virtual discharge counseling were 18 years old or greater with a diagnosis of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and no impediment precluding them from participating in a telemedicine encounter. Counseling was provided via secure teleconference in the patient's preferred language. Counseling included diagnosis, supportive care with medication dosing, quarantine instructions, return precautions, follow up, and time to ask questions. Duration of counseling was recorded and medical students were anonymously surveyed regarding their experience.

Results: Over an 18-week period, 45 patients were counseled for a median of 20 min. The 72-hr ED revisit rate was 0%, versus 4.2% in similarly-matched, not counseled COVID-19 patients. 90% of medical students believed this project increased their confidence when speaking with patients while 80% indicated this was their first telemedicine experience.

Conclusion: Our pilot discharge program provided patients with an extensive discharge counseling experience that would not otherwise be possible in an urban ED setting and demonstrated benefit to patient care. Medical students received a safe clinical experience that improved their communication skills.

Background: Providing telehealth care requires unique professionalism skills (i.e. telehealth etiquette) to ensure patients have a positive experience. Given the effect of patient-provider relationships on healthcare outcomes and the limited evidence for healthcare professionals to learn and practice these skills, developing a telehealth etiquette competency tool is necessary.

Methods: This multiround Delphi study utilized subject matter experts' opinions to validate a telehealth etiquette competency checklist, using Lawshe's content validity measurements. Panelists were diverse in professional backgrounds, years of experience, telehealth teaching, clinical experience, and involvement in telehealth professional society and governmental policy making.

Results: Consensus and validation were achieved on the checklist by the 17 panelists in Round 1 for 19 of 20 competencies. Following revisions based on their expert opinions, consensus was achieved by all 16 panelists in Round 2 for 20 competencies.

Discussion: The Telehealth Etiquette Competency Checklist (TECC) provides a validated telehealth etiquette tool that can be used by health professionals to improve their telehealth videoconsultations, thus enhancing patient satisfaction.

Introduction: Neurology wait times - from referral to consultation - continue to grow, leading to various adverse effects on patient outcomes. Key elements of virtual care can be leveraged to improve efficiency. This study examines the implementation of a novel virtual care model - Virtual Rapid Access Clinics - at the Neurology Centre of Toronto. The model employs a patient-centred care workflow, involving multidisciplinary staff and online administrative tools that are synthesized to expedite care and maintain quality.

Methods: Virtual Rapid Access Clinic efficacy was studied by determining average wait times and patient throughput, calculated from anonymous data that was extracted from the clinic patient database (n  =  1542). Comparative analysis focused on new patient consultations during the 12-month periods prior to (pre-Virtual Rapid Access Clinic, n  =  456) and following (post-Virtual Rapid Access Clinic, n  =  1086) Virtual Rapid Access Clinic implementation.

Results: After Virtual Rapid Access Clinic implementation, there was a mean 15-day wait time reduction, and a monthly average 52-patient increase in patient throughput. Wait time reductions and increased patient throughput were observed in all three Virtual Rapid Access Clinic sub-clinics - epilepsy, headache and concussion. Respectively, average wait times reduced significantly by 26.4 and 18.9 days and insignificantly by 1.1 days; monthly average patient throughputs increased by 235%, 95% and 161%.

Discussion: These findings demonstrated that the Virtual Rapid Access Clinic model of care is effective at reducing patient wait times and increasing patient throughput. While the Virtual Rapid Access Clinic presents a feasible model both during and after pandemic restrictions, further research exploring its scalability in other care contexts, potential changes in care quality and efficiency outside of pandemic restrictions must be performed.

Introduction: Suboptimal access to dermatologic care is dependent on patient location and insurance type. Although there have been attempts to address access issues, barriers to providing excellent dermatologic care to all patients at the right time still exist. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical impact of Dermatology Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) project participation on primary care providers' diagnostic and treatment tendencies and accuracy.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study constructed using Dermatology Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes case and recommendation data from November 2015 to June 2021. The University of Missouri-based Dermatology Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes specialty hub team offers regularly scheduled live interactive tele-mentoring sessions for primary care providers who practice in rural and underserved areas. 524 patient cases presented by 25 primary care providers were included in the analysis. Of those, 449 cases were included in diagnostic concordance, and 451 in treatment concordance analysis.

Results: Less than 40% of all diagnoses were fully concordant with an expert panel. Over 33% of patients were misdiagnosed, and over 26% received partially correct diagnosis. Only 16% of all treatment recommendations were fully concordant with an expert panel.

Discussion: Diagnostic and treatment accuracy of participants is low, and Dermatology Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes platform ensured patients received correct diagnosis and treatment quickly. Although tele-dermatology models are effective, they continue to be underutilized. Dermatologists in practice and training should be encouraged to adopt innovative clinical educational models, like Dermatology ECHO, to expand access to dermatologic expertise for the most marginalized populations.