Satisfaction with rural rheumatology telemedicine service

Poulsen, Katherine; Millen, Catherine M.; Lakshman, Umayal I.; Büttner, Petra; Roberts, Lynden

doi:10.1111/1756-185x.12491

Cited by 57 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The most common self-reported diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (29.7%) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (19.2%) ( Table 1). Median (interquartile range) disease duration and patient perception of disease control were 6 years (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) and 77 of 100 (53-93), respectively. A total of 63.8% of patients were taking ≥1 conventional synthetic diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), and 17.8% were taking a biologic or targeted synthetic DMARD.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases in the Early Phase of COVID‐19

Antony

Connelly

Silva

et al. 2020

Arthritis Care & Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective To determine health perceptions of patients with rheumatic diseases in the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Methods Rheumatology patients at a single center received via text message the Australian Rheumatology Association COVID‐19 information sheet and an invitation to participate in a deidentified survey. Patient concerns regarding risks conferred by their rheumatologic disease or medications, impact of receiving the information sheet on the likelihood of staying on medication, and acceptance of telehealth were ascertained. Results A total of 2,630 patients received the text message, and the survey response rate was 21% (n = 550). The mean ± SD age of the participants was 52 ± 15.2 years, and 75.3% were female. Participants’ highest ranked concern was that their medications would increase the severity of their COVID‐19 symptoms (76.1%). The highest levels of concern were seen in patients taking combination conventional synthetic disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and/or a biologic/targeted synthetic DMARD. There was no association between prednisolone dose and concern. While 63% of patients planned to continue their antirheumatic medications, a further 30% were more likely to continue taking their medications because of receiving the information. Telehealth was acceptable to 98.4% of patients, but 28.1% felt this was only appropriate while infection control measures were in place. Conclusion Concerns regarding the risk of COVID‐19 among patients taking antirheumatic drugs are common. Proactive dissemination of information is needed to address misconceptions related to medication risk, improve medication adherence, and minimize the risk of flares. Telehealth is acceptable to most patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases in the Early Phase of COVID‐19

Antony

Connelly

Silva

et al. 2020

Arthritis Care & Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Of the studies using VTC, TM presenters varied widely in training and included physicians (studies n = 8, patients n = 332 [23%]) as well as nurses and physical therapists (studies n = 3, patients n = 106 [7%]). Two VTC studies did not specify the use or training of presenters . Six studies (with 16% of total patients) included a statement of cost‐effectiveness or some components of a cost–benefit analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study both highlights areas of opportunity and identifies a need for further research. Interest in TM arose in part as a means to improve access to care in rural populations , and improving the accessibility of rheumatology care was a frequently cited goal of the studies included in this review . Limited access to care in rheumatology is likely to persist or worsen due to a growing shortage of rheumatology providers .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telerheumatology: A Systematic Review

McDougall

Ferucci

Glover

et al. 2017

Arthritis Care & Research

147

136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize the published literature on the use of telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory and/or autoimmune rheumatic disease. Methods We performed a registered systematic search (CRD42015025382) for studies using the MEDLINE (1946-August 2015), Embase (1974-August 2015), Web of Science (1900-August 2015), and Scopus (1946-August 2015) databases. We included studies which demonstrated the use of telemedicine for diagnosis and/or management of inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic disease. Following data extraction, we performed a descriptive analysis. Results Our literature search identified 1,468 potentially eligible studies. Of these, 20 reports were ultimately included in this review. Studies varied significantly in publication type, quality of evidence, and the reporting of methods. Most demonstrated a high risk of bias. Rheumatoid arthritis was the most commonly studied rheumatic disease (42% of patients). Studies demonstrated conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of telemedicine (18 found it effective, one found it effective but possibly harmful, and one found it ineffective). A limited number of studies included some component of a cost analysis (n=6, 16% of patients); all of these found telemedicine to be cost-effective. Conclusion Studies identified by this systematic review generally found telemedicine to be effective for the diagnosis and management of autoimmune/inflammatory rheumatic disease; however, there is limited evidence to support this conclusion. Further studies are needed to determine the best uses of telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of these conditions.

show abstract

“…Telemedicine, video conferencing, or otherwise improving access to existing practices, such as extending hours, may also play important roles in reducing travel times and thus improving access. 16,17,18 Interestingly, we found that some beneficiaries living in high-supply areas also traveled long distances to see a rheumatologist. Although more research is needed, we suspect that several factors may explain this paradox, including tertiary care referral patterns, patient preferences for particular, far-away clinicians, or lack of acceptance of public insurance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Factors associated with access to rheumatologists for Medicare patients

Schmajuk

Tonner

Yazdany

2016

Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective Despite looming rheumatologist shortages and a growing number of patients with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions, nationwide estimates of access to rheumatology care have never been reported. We aimed to measure travel times as a proxy to access to care and to determine the individual and area-level factors associated with long travel times to rheumatologists in the U.S. Methods We used Medicare Part B claims for the 2009 Medicare Chronic Condition Warehouse 5% rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis cohort. Using Google Maps we estimated driving time from the center of a beneficiary’s home ZIP code to the center of their rheumatologist’s office ZIP code. We examined predictors of travel time ≥ 90 minutes in a series of generalized linear mixed models adjusting for rheumatologist supply, rurality, and individual patient characteristics including age, race, gender, and income. Results We included 41,693 Medicare beneficiaries with one or more visits to a rheumatologist in 2009. The median estimated beneficiary travel time to a rheumatologist was 22 minutes (interquartile range (IQR) 12–40 minutes). Seven percent of beneficiaries travelled 90 minutes or longer to visit a rheumatologist. Even after adjusting for covariates, independent predictors of long travel times included living in areas with no or low supply of rheumatologists and living in the Mountain region of the U.S. Conclusions A small but significant proportion of patients in the U.S. travelled very long distances to visit a rheumatologist, and most of these individuals resided in areas with no or low supplies of rheumatologists. These data suggest that addressing shortages in rheumatology care for patients in low-supply areas is a key target for improving access to rheumatologists.

show abstract

Satisfaction with rural rheumatology telemedicine service

Abstract: These results suggest that patients are satisfied with a rheumatology telemedicine service, and may prefer this to extensive travelling. Evaluation in other settings is recommended before generalizing this finding.

Cited by 57 publications

References 12 publications

Perspectives of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases in the Early Phase of COVID‐19

Perspectives of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases in the Early Phase of COVID‐19

Telerheumatology: A Systematic Review

Factors associated with access to rheumatologists for Medicare patients

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About