Implementation and Evaluation of Telehealth Tools and Technologies

Abstract

In June 2009, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), convened a conference of experts to discuss future directions for research in addressing healthcare disparities through the use of telehealth technologies. As part of this conference, a panel was convened to review the status of current efforts to assess, implement, and evaluate telehealth technologies, and to recommend future directions for research. The panel members provided a series of practical recommendations to those who are contemplating establishing a telehealth service, as well as recommendations to the NIH on future funding for telehealth research. The recommendations to the NIH focused on three broad areas of concern: (1) technology assessment, (2) evaluation, and (3) technical assistance, education, and dissemination. The panel members emphasized the need for NIH to support research in areas that have been seriously underfunded in the past, including but not limited to primary care research, multisite collaborative telehealth studies, nonphysician telehealth services, and methodological development to develop a "gold standard" for telehealth studies.

Telemedicine: Pediatric Applications

“…Key parts of the evaluation strategy advocated by the National Center for Research Resources include establishment of measurable outcomes, basic equipment descriptions, multisite trials, and economic evaluations. 61 Other key focus areas include new technologies, evaluation of telehealth, innovation in education, innovation for improving access, tools for public health systems, and the development of national telehealth networks such as that of the Veteran’s Administration. 60 More recently, noninferiority trials 62 and other statistical methods have been used to evaluate telemedicine.…”

Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Phased Implementation of a National Telehealth Weight Management Program for Veterans (Preprint)

“…Interviews also revealed how (e.g., calls for trouble shooting device problems), and patient satisfaction data [40]. Telehealth interventions represent a significant investment and it is particularly important to determine if devices and programs are user friendly, well designed, and achieve clinically significant changes in clinical outcomes [40].…”

“…Telehealth interventions represent a significant investment and it is particularly important to determine if devices and programs are user friendly, well designed, and achieve clinically significant changes in clinical outcomes [40]. Currently, it is difficult to extract TeleMOVE data from VHA administrative databases to perform measurement-based care, monitor program process over time, and allow policy makers to make strategic funding decisions.…”

Telephone Consultation for Improving Health of People Living with or at Risk of HIV: A Systematic Review

“…There are differing views on the appropriateness of trial research for studying complex interventions such as ones using communication technology [77], but future studies will require improved methodologies with a sufficient number of participants, longer follow-up and objective measurement. In addition to patient-related outcomes, provider outcomes, cost-effectiveness and adverse effects should be measured.…”