Dataset Information

Mixed-methods evaluation of a telehealth collaborative care program for persons with HIV infection in a rural setting.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Delivery of comprehensive care for persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in rural and low prevalence settings presents many challenges. We developed and evaluated a telehealth collaborative care (TCC) program for persons with HIV in a rural area.

Objective

To determine the feasibility of TCC, and identify factors influencing implementation in rural settings.

Design

Mixed methods evaluation of a quality improvement program with pre-measures and post-measures.

Patients

Veterans with HIV infection in Iowa and Illinois.

Intervention

TCC integrated HIV specialty care delivered by clinical video telehealth, with primary care delivered by generalist providers, in seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) serving rural areas. Principles guiding TCC design were: 1) clear delineation of specialty and primary care clinic roles in co-managed care; 2) creation of processes to improve care coordination between specialty and primary care teams; and 3) use of a patient registry for population management across sites.

Measures

Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system performance measures for care for HIV infection and common comorbidities, patient travel time to obtain care, and patient satisfaction. Qualitative evaluation involved semi-structured telephone interviews with patients.

Key results

Thirty of 32 eligible patients chose TCC over traveling to the HIV clinic for all care. Among 24 patients in TCC during the June 2011-May 2012 evaluation period, median age was 54 (range, 40-79), most (96 %) were men, and median CD4 count was 707 cells/cm(3) (range, 233-1307). VA performance measures were met for > 90 % of TCC patients. Median yearly travel time decreased from 320 min per patient prior to TCC to 170 min during TCC (p?DiscussionTelehealth Collaborative Care is a feasible approach to providing accessible and comprehensive care for persons with HIV in rural settings.

SUBMITTER: Ohl M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3744312 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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