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August 10, 2023BMC Health Services ResearchOpen Access

Telemedicine for HF saves patient time and remains acceptable to clinicians despite altering clinical workflows.

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Why the study?

Covid-19 prompted a rapid shift to remote-by-default clinic appointments, leading researchers to evaluate clinician and patient experiences of teleconsultations for heart failure.

Does telemedicine provide an acceptable and effective alternative to in-person consultations for heart failure patients and clinicians?

Population

Eight clinicians and eight patients with HF at a specialist centre in the UK

Design

Qualitative semi-structured interview study with thematic analysis

Key result

Telemedicine consultations for heart failure were more convenient and time-saving for patients, and generally acceptable to clinicians, though they changed workflows and clinical assessment methods.

Authors

ASArvind SinghalJRJillian RileyMCMartín Cowie

Discussion

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Overview

May support hybrid heart failure care models; leaves open questions on long-term outcomes and equity.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=16)

Multicenter

No

Structured PICO

Does telemedicine provide an acceptable and effective alternative to in-person consultations for heart failure patients and clinicians?

P
Population
8 clinicians (4 consultant cardiologists, 3 specialist nurses, 1 training-grade doctor) and 8 patients with heart failure at a specialist centre in the UK (Royal Brompton Hospital). Patients' follow-up duration for HF ranged from 4 months to 10 years.
I
Intervention
Telemedicine consultations (telephone and video via AttendAnywhere platform) for heart failure management
C
Comparator
Traditional in-person (face-to-face) clinic appointments
O
Outcome
Clinician and patient experiences and perceptions of teleconsultations for heart failure, explored via semi-structured interviews and thematic analysispatient reported

Telemedicine for heart failure consultations offers significant convenience and time savings but lacks physical examination capabilities, suggesting a hybrid model combining remote and in-person care is optimal.

Limitations

  • Small sample size of 16 participants
  • Single tertiary centre study may not be representative of district general hospitals
  • Low survey response rate (9.9%) may introduce selection bias towards more digitally literate patients
  • Did not assess the views of primary care clinicians
  • Interviewee perceptions of the interviewer may influence responses
  • Social desirability bias whereby respondents may express views they think are more acceptable
  • Thematic analysis is subjective and subject to different interpretations of data

Cite This Study

Singhal et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Heart failure (n=16). Telemedicine consultations vs. In-person consultations was evaluated. Telemedicine consultations for heart failure were more convenient and time-saving for patients, and generally acceptable to clinicians, though they changed workflows and clinical assessment methods.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a1c249127b545b111a98573https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09872-z
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