Journal
JAMA NEUROLOGY
Volume 70, Issue 5, Pages 565-570Publisher
AMER MEDICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.123
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Funding
- Presbyterian Home for Central New York
- Verizon
- Lundbeck
- Blue Cross Blue Shield (Rochester, New York)
- Susquehanna Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield (Rochester, New York)
- Paul Beeson Career Development Award Program (National Institute on Aging grant [K23 AG 032910]
- American Federation for Aging Research
- John A. Hartford Foundation
- Atlantic Philanthropies
- Starr Foundation
- Parkinson's Disease Foundation Summer Student Fellowship [PDF-SFW-1204]
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Importance: The burden of neurological disorders is increasing, but access to care is limited. Providing specialty care to patients via telemedicine could help alleviate this growing problem. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and economic benefits of using web-based videoconferencing (telemedicine) to provide specialty care to patients with Parkinson disease in their homes. Design: A 7-month, 2-center, randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: Patients' homes and outpatient clinics at 2 academic medical centers. Participants: Twenty patients with Parkinson disease with Internet access at home. Intervention: Care from a specialist delivered remotely at home or in person in the clinic. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome variable was feasibility, as measured by the percentage of telemedicine visits completed as scheduled. Secondary outcome measures included clinical benefit, as measured by the 39-item Parkinson Disease Questionnaire, and economic value, as measured by time and travel. Results: Twenty participants enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to telemedicine (n=9) or in-person care (n=11). Of the 27 scheduled telemedicine visits, 25 (93%) were completed, and of the 33 scheduled in-person visits, 30 (91%) were completed (P=.99). In this small study, the change in quality of life did not differ for those randomly assigned to telemedicine compared with those randomly assigned to in-person care (4.0-point improvement vs 6.4-point improvement; P=.61). Compared with in-person visits, each telemedicine visit saved participants, on average, 100 miles of travel and 3 hours of time. Conclusion and Relevance: Using web-based videoconferencing to provide specialty care at home is feasible, provides value to patients, and may offer similar clinical benefit to that of in-person care. Larger studies are needed to determine whether the clinical benefits are indeed comparable to those of in-person care and whether the results observed are generalizable.
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