Test educational interventions to increase the quality of care in telemedicine.

Telemedicine (TM) has become an essential tool to practise medicine around the world. However, education to address clinical skills in TM remains an area of need globally across the health professions. We aim to evaluate the impact of a pilot online learning platform (OLP) and standardized coaching programme on the quality of medical student TM clinical skills.

A randomized pilot study was conducted with fourth-year medical students (n = 12). All participants engaged in video-recorded standardized patient (SP) simulated encounters to assess TM clinical skills before and after the intervention. Participants were randomized to either the OLP or OLP + Virtual Coaching Institute (VCI) intervention cohort. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to address self-reported skills, attitudes, and self-efficacy before the 1st SP encounter and after the 2nd SP encounter. SP encounter recordings were scored by two blinded non-investigator raters based on a standardized rubric to measure the change in TM care delivered pre- and post-intervention. Statistical analysis of quantitative data included descriptive statistics and mixed effects ANOVA.

Recruitment and retention of participants exceeded expectations, pointing to significant enthusiasm for this educational opportunity. Self-reported skills and scored simulation skills demonstrated significant improvements for all participants receiving the interventions. Both OLP and VCI interventions were well received, feasible, and demonstrated statistically significant efficacy in improving TM clinical skills. Participants who received coaching described more improvements in self-efficacy, confidence, and overall virtual clinical skills. This study provides evidence that virtualized clinical learning environments can positively impact the development of TM clinical skills among medical students. As TM continues to evolve, the implementation of innovative training approaches will be crucial in preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals for the demands of modern healthcare delivery.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to global healthcare. Face-to-face outpatient care was dramatically reduced. This study implemented a remote consultation service via a mobile app (Pexip) to monitor patients with major CHD.

Study design was quasi-experimental and prospective.

Remote consultations were carried out at a tertiary paediatric cardiology centre in Northern Ireland.

Children with major CHD aged 0–16years in Northern Ireland.

The intervention was a Pexip-enabled remote consultation.

Primary outcome measures included the number of attendances to hospital both initiated and avoided via remote consultation. Remote consultations were conducted by doctor and/or cardiac specialist nurse or by specialist nurse alone (52% vs. 48%).

In the study, 32 patients enrolled; three were non-responders and a further two excluded. There were 201 remote consultations delivered (mean = 7.4). There were 12 admissions to hospital resulting from the remote consultation; the commonest indication was abnormal oxygen saturations (42%). There were 38 hospital attendances avoided, predominantly related to infant feeding and medication advice (both 42%).

A significant number of unnecessary hospital attendances were avoided (n = 38). Remote consultation technology proved a user-friendly and valuable adjunct to the provision of ongoing specialist patient care in challenging circumstances. There was a reduction in parental anxiety, and both parents and clinicians found this initiative beneficial to patient care. There was prompt identification of unwell children on remote consultations.

In order to minimise physical interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, telepsychiatry became a key part of clinical practice for many psychiatrists.

This study involved an exploratory, cross-sectional, opt-in online survey circulated to non-consultant doctors in psychiatry working in Ireland. It assessed experience and attitudes in relation to telepsychiatry use.

The response rate was 11.6% (n = 61). Forty-eight individuals (78.6%) had delivered clinical care using telepsychiatry. Fifty-nine individuals (96.7%) were unfamiliar with telepsychiatry prior to the pandemic. Most respondents had not received specific training around use of a telepsychiatry platform (86.9%, n = 63) and were unaware of published guidelines around its optimal use (54.1%, n = 33). Respondents’ concerns included issues around connectivity, medico-legal uncertainty and clinical effectiveness.

Conclusions drawn are limited by the potential for selection bias in this study. Nonetheless the paper has highlighted important issues including the need for more research assessing telepsychiatry clinical and curricular experience. Additional curricular interventions during training could build skillset and confidence in telepsychiatry.

Digital health technologies have been enhancing the capacity of healthcare providers and, thereby, the delivery of targeted health services. The Southeast Asia Region (SEAR) has invested in strengthening digital public health. Many digital health interventions have been implemented in public health settings but are rarely assessed using the holistic health technology assessment (HTA) approach.

A systematic literature review was performed to provide an overview of evaluations of digital public health interventions in the World Health Organization (WHO) SEAR. Searches were conducted on four electronic databases. Screening title abstracts and full texts was independently conducted by two reviewers, followed by data extraction. Dimensions of HTA were analyzed against the EUnetHTA Core Model 3.0. Quality assessment of included articles was conducted using the JBI Checklist for Economic Evaluation and Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards 2022 checklist to assess the reporting quality. The findings are presented using systematic evidence tables and bar charts.

Of the forty-three studies screened at the full-text stage, thirteen studies conducted across six countries were included in the analysis. Telemedicine and m-health interventions were assessed in ten studies. Nine studies conducted cost-effectiveness analysis, and five assessments were conducted from a societal perspective. Four studies utilized more than one perspective for the assessment. Health problem definition and current use of technology, description and technical characteristics of the technology, clinical effectiveness, costs, economic evaluation, and organizational aspects were assessed by all the studies, whereas legal aspects were least assessed.

The lack of HTAs on digital public health interventions in the region highlights the need for capacity-building efforts.

In recent years, the importance of telemedicine has increased significantly. Especially in the field of echocardiography, virtual reality glasses offer the possibility of real-time data transmission without restrictions in the examination process. In particular, the care of critically ill newborns with suspected CHD might be improved by allowing a specialized paediatric cardiologist to remotely guide an echocardiographic examination. The current study aims to prove whether novices, under Google Glass guidance by a paediatric cardiologist, can perform an appropriate neonatal echocardiography.

The current study is a prospective monocentric single-blinded pilot study. Participants were supposed to perform two test runs: The first test run was “unguided” and the second test run was instructed via Google Glass. A validated training simulator for neonatal echocardiography “EchocomNeo, Echocom GmbH” was used. The study took place at the Leipzig Heart Center, Department of Pediatric Cardiology from April 2022 to November 2022.

A total of 21 medical students were enrolled. In total 252 views (126 views in each test run) were recorded. The overall performance was significantly higher in the Google Glass guided test run compared to “unguided” (structure score: 77.6% vs. 63.2%. p < 0.001 and quality score: 58.7% vs. 47.2%, p < 0.001). Also, the time was significantly lower in the Google Glass guided test run than in the unguided test run, p = 0.014.

Google Glass guidance by a paediatric cardiologist could optimize the performance of novices in echocardiography using a standardized neonatal echo-simulator with structural normal cardiac anatomy.

Since COVID-19, Indonesia has legalized telemedicine in medical services, including Return to Work (RTW). RTW programs help occupational injury-disabled workers return to work. This research examines how telemedicine supports RTW for employees with occupational injuries.

The study used Interrupted Time Series Analysis (ITSA) to find patterns and trends in RTW program telemedicine case numbers and claim settlements over time. A total of 1 314 data were obtained from the Indonesian National Social Security Agency on Employment (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) from July 1, 2015, to December 2022.

Telemedicine reduces the frequency of recurrent occupational injuries in persons with impairments (Relative Risk [RR] = 0.59). In addition, the integration of telemedicine into health care practices exhibits promising prospects in terms of mitigating the financial burden on social security programs. This is supported by a robust RR (0.6).

Telemedicine reduced the number of repeat cases and optimized medical claims cost in the RTW program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results will contribute to policy and assist health care professionals and employers in improving RTW outcomes for disabled people.

Paediatric ear and hearing services in the UK are currently facing significant challenges leading to increased waiting times for patients. This letter aims to explore teleotology, focusing on ear health care delivered via telemedicine, as a potential solution to alleviate service pressures and improve care delivery.

The current state of paediatric ear and hearing services in the UK was reviewed and the potential for teleotology to improve service delivery by reducing face-to-face consultations and improving triage processes was explored.

Evidence from studies conducted in adults in the UK suggests that teleotology can optimise the allocation of resources, ensure timely treatment, and enhance the quality of care, aligning with the NHS Long Term Plan and recommendations from the GIRFT report.

The findings from adult teleotology are encouraging, but further research is required to demonstrate the efficacy of teleotology for children and young people in NHS settings.

Impaired motor and cognitive function can make travel cumbersome for People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD). Over 50% of PwPD cared for at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Movement Disorders Clinic reside over 30 miles from Little Rock. Improving access to clinical care for PwPD is needed.

To explore the feasibility of remote clinic-to-clinic telehealth research visits for evaluation of multi-modal function in PwPD.

PwPD residing within 30 miles of a UAMS Regional health center were enrolled and clinic-to-clinic telehealth visits were performed. Motor and non-motor disease assessments were administered and quantified. Results were compared to participants who performed at-home telehealth visits using the same protocols during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Compared to the at-home telehealth visit group (n = 50), the participants from regional centers (n = 13) had similar age and disease duration, but greater disease severity with higher total Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale scores (Z = −2.218, p = 0.027) and lower Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores (Z = −3.350, p < 0.001). Regional center participants had lower incomes (Pearson’s chi = 21.3, p < 0.001), higher costs to attend visits (Pearson’s chi = 16.1, p = 0.003), and lived in more socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods (Z = −3.120, p = 0.002). Prior research participation was lower in the regional center group (Pearson’s chi = 4.5, p = 0.034) but both groups indicated interest in future research participation.

Regional center research visits in PwPD in medically underserved areas are feasible and could help improve access to care and research participation in these traditionally underrepresented populations.