Stephen M Selkirk1,2,3,4, Monique O Washington1,2, Frances McClellan1,2, Broderick Flynn1,2, Jacinta M Seton1,2,4, Richard Strozewski1,2. 1. a Cleveland VA ALS Center of Excellence, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Cleveland OH , USA. 2. b Spinal Cord Injury Division , Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Cleveland OH , USA. 3. c Department of Neurology , Case Western Reserve Medical School , Cleveland OH , USA , and. 4. d Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Cleveland OH , USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine if ALS patients evaluated via telemedicine received the same quality of care as patients evaluated by traditional face-to-face encounters. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study design was used. Participants were patients diagnosed with ALS that received multidisciplinary care at the tertiary Cleveland VA ALS Centre between 1 March 2008- and 31 anuary 2015. Participants were not randomised, but chose telemedicine based on preference, disability level or distance from the clinic. Telemedicine in this study consisted of a video conferencing platform enabling remote rather than face-to-face encounters with participants. RESULTS: There was no significant association between receiving quality ALS care and the mode of care. There was a trend for telemedicine patients to utilise home health care less often than those that received clinic care (AOR 0.50; 95% CI 0.16-1.59). There was no significant difference in survival time between the two groups (log-rank test χ2 = 3.62, df = 1, p = 0.05). Patients receiving telemedicine had a higher probability of remaining stable or having <30% decrease in ALSFRS-R over time (log-rank test χ2 = 4.46, df = 1, p = 0.03). There was a significantly lower risk of disease progression for patients receiving telemedicine (HR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.16-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Patients managed by telemedicine received the same quality of care and had similar outcomes to those patients seen via traditional face-to-face encounters. Telemedicine is an effective platform for delivering high quality tertiary ALS care.
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine if ALSpatients evaluated via telemedicine received the same quality of care as patients evaluated by traditional face-to-face encounters. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study design was used. Participants were patients diagnosed with ALS that received multidisciplinary care at the tertiary Cleveland VA ALS Centre between 1 March 2008- and 31 anuary 2015. Participants were not randomised, but chose telemedicine based on preference, disability level or distance from the clinic. Telemedicine in this study consisted of a video conferencing platform enabling remote rather than face-to-face encounters with participants. RESULTS: There was no significant association between receiving quality ALS care and the mode of care. There was a trend for telemedicine patients to utilise home health care less often than those that received clinic care (AOR 0.50; 95% CI 0.16-1.59). There was no significant difference in survival time between the two groups (log-rank test χ2 = 3.62, df = 1, p = 0.05). Patients receiving telemedicine had a higher probability of remaining stable or having <30% decrease in ALSFRS-R over time (log-rank test χ2 = 4.46, df = 1, p = 0.03). There was a significantly lower risk of disease progression for patients receiving telemedicine (HR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.16-0.93). CONCLUSIONS:Patients managed by telemedicine received the same quality of care and had similar outcomes to those patients seen via traditional face-to-face encounters. Telemedicine is an effective platform for delivering high quality tertiary ALS care.
Entities:
Keywords:
ALS; multidisciplinary care; quality of life; survival; telemedicine
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