Recent articles support the hypothesis that VR therapies can effectively distract patients who suffer from chronic pain and from acute pain stimulated in trials. Clinical studies yield promising results in the application of VR therapies to a variety of acute and chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia, phantom limb pain, and regional specific pain from past injuries and illnesses. Current management techniques for acute and chronic pain, such as opioids and physical therapy, are often incomplete or ineffective. VR trials demonstrate a potential to redefine the approach to treating acute and chronic pain in the clinical setting. Patient immersion in interactive virtual reality provides distraction from painful stimuli and can decrease an individual's perception of the pain. In this review, we discuss the use of VR to provide patient distraction from acute pain induced from electrical, thermal, and pressure conditions. We also discuss the application of VR technologies to treat various chronic pain conditions in both outpatient and inpatient settings.
The implementation of the CDC recommendations establishing routine opt-out HIV screening programs in EDs is feasible. Further efforts to establish routine ED HIV testing are therefore warranted.
SummaryBackground and Significance: End stage renal disease (ESRD) affects approximately 660,000 persons in the US each year, representing a significant financial burden to the health care system and affected individuals. Telehealth approaches to care offer an important means of reducing costs as well as increasing autonomy for patients. Understanding patient satisfaction with telehealth provides a key towards eventual scalability. Materials and Methods: Quarterly surveys were conducted to characterize satisfaction with remote biometric monitoring (RBM) for blood pressure, weight, glucose and peritoneal dialysis (PD)-specific educational online videos for ESRD patients using PD. Results: Of 300 participants, 67% participated in the surveys and provided baseline and at least one follow-up assessment. The majority were 45 to 64 years of age (50.5%), Black (64.5%), married or living with significant other (52.0%), and had more than a high school degree (73.0%). RBM was associated with perceived autonomy and confidence in health care activities and decreased negative perceptions of PD care and ESRD. The majority of participants (80.1%) indicated that they were satisfied or completely satisfied with the system. Participants found that the interface increased confidence, reduced frustration, and related perceptions were significantly and positively altered (p<0.05) for each of the separate telehealth components. Educational videos were well utilized with nearly half of the participants (42.5%) reporting that they watched at least one of the videos, and the majority reporting that the videos seen had an overall positive impact on health. Discussion and Conclusions: Supplementing PD with telehealth has the potential to have a positive impact on patient perceptions of PD care and consequently improve clinical outcomes.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has driven most clinicians, from those practicing in small independent practices to those in large system, to adopt virtual care. However, individuals and organizations may lack the experience and skills that would be considered fundamental prerequisites to adopting telehealth in less urgent times. What are those skills? Before the pandemic, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) convened national experts to identify and articulate a consensus set of critical telehealth skills for clinicians. Methods: Through a structured review of the literature, followed by several rounds of review and refinement by committee and community members via a modified Delphi process, the committee came to consensus on a set of skills required by clinicians to provide quality care via telehealth. Conclusion: The consensus set of telehealth skills presented in this paper, developed by the AAMC and national experts, can serve providers and health systems seeking to ensure that clinicians are prepared to meet the demand for care delivered via telehealth now and in the future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.