A Novel Virtual-Based Comprehensive Clinical Approach to Headache Care

Abstract

One major innovation, a result of the coronavirus pandemic, has been the proliferation of telemedicine. Telehealth can help solve the access problems that plague headache medicine, allowing patients in areas with no headache expertise to consult and work with a headache specialist. This is a retrospective chart review of patients seen by Neura Health, a comprehensive app-based telehealth headache center. Patients are seen by a specialist and, in addition to any medical recommendations, are given care plans individualized to their condition and recommendations at the end of their clinical appointments. The primary outcome of this study is a decrease in monthly headache days after 90 days; secondary outcomes include disability as determined by MIDAS score, depression determined by PHQ-9, patients’ utilization of emergency department or urgent care resources, as well as their global impression of improvement. The deidentified outcomes of consecutive patients of Neura Health were evaluated from March 2022–March 2023. Subjects were excluded if they did not complete all forms, or if they did not receive a clinical or coaching follow-up appointment within 90 days. A total of 186 consecutive patients at Neura Health were identified during the review period. The median decrease in monthly headache days was 55.0% after a 90 day period, headache severity was decreased by 16.7%, global impression of improvement increased by 60.9%, disability decreased by 38.7%, depression decreased by 12.5% and ER/urgent care visits were decreased by 66.1%. A comprehensive, telehealth-based virtual headache-care model significantly decreased migraine frequency, severity and disability, and is able to decrease ER or urgent care visits.