Dataset Information

Evaluation of Tele-rheumatology during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asian Population: A Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune condition associated with a potential for deformities. It is one of the common conditions to seek health care. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the telemedicine services for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic in an Asian Indian population.

Methods

A prospective study was conducted (March 2020-June 2020) in the telemedicine department of a premier northern Indian tertiary care institution. Out of the total patients enrolled (N = 7577) in telemedicine services, 122 rheumatoid arthritis patients (1.6%) were followed for 1 month to assess change in functional status by modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ). Telephonic interviews of the enrolled patients were conducted to determine the level of understanding of advice given by consultants, barriers during the consultation, and satisfaction with teleconsultations for rheumatology clinics.

Results

For the native people, language of the clinicians was the main barrier (20%) in telerheumatology. Saving of time and money was observed as beneficial factors for patients. More than three-quarters of all rheumatoid arthritis patients were ready to use teleconsultation in the near future. A similar proportion of patients were in support for the recommendation of these services to other persons.

Conclusion

We report the successful use of telemedicine services in the evaluation and management of rheumatic diseases in the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.

SUBMITTER: Sandhu A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8497142 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Evaluation of Tele-rheumatology during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asian Population: A Pilot Study.

Sandhu Amit A Agarwal Amit A Kaur Paramvir P Sharma Meenakshi M Sra Harnoor H Singh Manvi M Jaiswal Nishant N Chauhan Anil A Gupta Anju A Singh Meenu M

International journal of telemedicine and applications 20210930

<h4>Objective</h4>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune condition associated with a potential for deformities. It is one of the common conditions to seek health care. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the telemedicine services for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic in an Asian Indian population.<h4>Methods</h4>A prospective study was conducted (March 2020-June 2020) in the telemedicine department of a premier northern Indian terti ...[more]

PMID: 34630561

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Project description:BackgroundDuring the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, ambulatory pediatric rheumatology healthcare rapidly transformed to a mainly telehealth model. However, pediatric patient and caregiver satisfaction with broadly deployed telehealth programs remains largely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate patient/caregiver satisfaction with telehealth and identify the factors associated with satisfaction in a generalizable sample of pediatric rheumatology patients.MethodsPatients with an initial telehealth video visit with a rheumatology provider between April and June 2020 were eligible. All patients/caregivers were sent a post-visit survey to assess a modified version of the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ) and demographic and clinical characteristics. TUQ total and sub-scale (usefulness, ease of use, effectiveness, satisfaction) scores were calculated and classified as "positive" based on responses of "agree" or "strongly agree" on a 5-point Likert scale. Results were analyzed using standard descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank testing. The association between demographic and clinical characteristics with TUQ scores was assessed using univariate linear regression.Results597 patients/caregivers met inclusion criteria, and the survey response rate was 42% (n = 248). Juvenile idiopathic arthritis was the most common diagnosis (33.5%). The majority of patients were diagnosed greater than 6 months previously (72.6%) and were prescribed chronic medications (59.7%). The median total TUQ score was 4 (IQR: 4-5) with positive responses in 81% of items. Of the subscales, usefulness scores were lowest (median: 4, p < 0.001). Telehealth saves time traveling was the highest median item score (median = 5, IQR: 4-5). Within subscales, items that scored significantly lower included convenience, providing for needs, seeing rheumatologist as well as in person, and being an acceptable way to receive rheumatology services (all p < 0.001). There were no significant demographic or clinical features associated with TUQ scores.ConclusionsOur results suggest telehealth is a promising mode of healthcare delivery for pediatric rheumatic diseases but also identifies opportunities for improvement. Innovation and research are needed to design a telehealth system that delivers high quality and safe care that improves healthcare outcomes. Since telehealth is a rapidly emerging form of pediatric rheumatology care, improved engagement and training of patients, caregivers, and providers may help improve the patient experience in the future.

Project description:Healthcare providers were rapidly forced to modify the way they practiced medicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many providers transitioned from seeing their patients in person to virtually using telemedicine platforms with limited training and experience using this medium. In pediatric rheumatology, this was further complicated as musculoskeletal exams typically require hands-on assessment of patients. The objective of this study was to examine the adoption of telemedicine into pediatric rheumatology practices, to assess its benefits and challenges, and to gather opinions on its continued use. A survey was sent to the lead representatives of each Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN) site to collect data about their center's experience with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Responses were received from the majority [19/21 (90%)] of PR-COIN sites. All respondents reported transitioning from in-person to primarily virtual patient visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. All centers reported seeing both new consultations and follow-up patients over telemedicine. Most centers reported using both audio and video conferencing systems to conduct their telemedicine visits. The majority of respondents [13/19 (68%)] indicated that at least 50% of their site's providers consistently used pediatric Gait Arms Legs and Spine (pGALS) to perform active joint count assessments over telemedicine. Over half of the centers [11/19 (58%)] reported collecting patient-reported outcomes (PROs), but the rate of reliably documenting clinical components varied. A few sites [7/19 (37%)] reported performing research-related activity during telemedicine visits. All centers thought that telemedicine visits were able to meet providers' needs and support their continued use when the pandemic ends. Benefits reported with telemedicine visits included convenience and continuity of care for families. Conversely, challenges included limited ability to perform physical exams and varying access to technology. Pediatric rheumatology providers were able to transition to conducting virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers recognize how telemedicine can enhance their practice, but challenges need to be overcome in order to ensure equitable, sustainable delivery of quality and patient-centered care.

Project description:Introduction: It is well-established that clinical pharmacist-managed anticoagulation services achieve superior anticoagulation control, with a positive impact. At King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the structure of anticoagulation management is a pharmacist-managed specialty service. With the current COVID-19 situation, measures were taken to assure the continuity of patient care by establishing tele-pharmacy anticoagulation clinics. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study with patients prescribed anticoagulation and followed up for 3 months. Since establishing the anticoagulation virtual clinic in March 2020, 270 patients were recruited in the study. The data collected included age, gender, comorbidities, indication for anticoagulation, intended duration of treatment, warfarin dose, testing of International Normalized Ratio (INR), INR target, range of INR values, time INR that was within the therapeutic range (TTR), and complications of therapy (bleeding and/or bruises). The patients were asked to complete the pharmacist satisfaction survey (PSS) after their consultation to assess patient satisfaction with the new virtual consultation system. Linguistic and cultural validation was conducted for the questionnaire. Results: A total of 270 patients were included in the study. The mean percentage of overall INR values in the range was 59.39% ± 32.84, and the mean time with the overall INR was within the therapeutic range 57.81% ± 32.08. Thirty-one percent of the sample had good anticoagulation control (time in therapeutic range >70%). The median satisfaction score was 32 (IQR 28-36) with a maximum score of 40. Conclusion: This is the first study to assess the tele-pharmacy anticoagulation clinic's efficiency and patient satisfaction in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This type of consultation was as effective as face-to-face consultations. The study also highlighted that though the reduction in the cost of care was not substantial, there was a significant increase in resource (clinical pharmacist) utilization as a result of this model. The adoption of tele-pharmacy resulted in time savings for the clinical pharmacists who can be utilized in many other improvement projects in adult ambulatory clinics to ensure the delivery of better quality and safe patient care.

Project description:Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there have been changes in clinical practice to limit transmission, such as switching from face-to-face to remote consultations. We aimed to study the influence of technical factors on remote consultations in our experience during the pandemic. 12 clinicians completed data collection forms after consultations, recording the technology used (video vs phone); technical problems encountered; discharge or subsequent appointment status; and technical aspects of the consultation process using 0-10 numerical rating scales (NRS) (Time Adequate; Relevant History; Physical Exam; Management Plan; and Communication Quality). Data were collated on an MS Access 2016 database and transferred to SPSS version 25 for statistics. Of 285 forms valid for analysis, 48 (16.8%) had video consultations. Of 259 forms with technical problems data recorded, 48 (18.5%) had a technical problem. Video patients were significantly younger (mean 49.3 vs 61.3 years, p < 0.001), had higher scores on Physical Exam scale (mean 4.0 vs 2.6, p < 0.001), but had no significant difference on Management Plan scale (7.3 vs 7.2). Those with technical problems were more common among video consultations (33.3% vs 15.4%, p = 0.005), had lower scores on Time Adequate scale (7.7 vs 8.7, p < 0.001) and Communication Quality scale (7.1 vs 8.4, p < 0.001), but had no significant difference on Management Plan scale (7.3 vs 7.2). The strongest correlation of Management Plan scale was with Communication Quality scale (Rho = 0.64). Of the NRS, a 1-point reduction in scores on Management Plan scale was the strongest predictor of subsequent face-to-face appointment (Odds Ratio 1.88, 95% CI 1.58-2.24), and this remained an independent predictor in multivariate analysis (adjusted OR 1.90, 1.57-2.31). Having a technical problem was inversely associated with the outcome of a subsequent face-to-face appointment (OR 0.17, 0.04-0.74), and this remained significant after adjustment for Management Plan in multivariate analysis (adjusted OR 0.09, 0.12-0.54). Video patients were younger suggesting a preference for video amongst younger patients. Although technical problems were more common with video, having a video consultation or a technical problem had no significant impact on management plan. Scoring lower on the Management Plan scale was the strongest predictor of, and independently associated with, requesting a subsequent face-to-face appointment. The inverse relationship of technical problems with subsequent face-to-face appointment request will need validation in further studies.

Dataset Information

Evaluation of Tele-rheumatology during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asian Population: A Pilot Study.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Evaluation of Tele-rheumatology during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asian Population: A Pilot Study.

Similar Datasets

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