Use of Telehealth Expedites Evaluation and Listing of Patients Referred for Liver Transplantation.

ABSTRACT:

Background & aims

Liver transplantation is the only treatment that increases survival times of patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Patients who live farther away from a transplant center are disadvantaged. Health care delivery via telehealth is an effective way to manage patients with decompensated cirrhosis remotely. We investigated the effects of telehealth on the liver transplant evaluation process.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of 465 patients who underwent evaluation for liver transplantation at the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 2005 through 2017. Of these, 232 patients were evaluated via telehealth, and 233 via in-person evaluation. Using regression models, we evaluated the differential effects of telehealth vs usual care on placement on

SUBMITTER: John BV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7326549 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature