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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments: a systematic review protocol.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Emergency telehealth has been used to improve accessibility of rural and remote patients to specialist care. Evidence to date has demonstrated effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments within a variety of contexts. However, systematic reviews to date have not focused on the rural and remote emergency departments. The purpose of this study is to review the outcome measures used in evaluations of emergency telehealth in rural and remote settings and assess evidence relating to their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. METHODS:Randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, and full and partial economic evaluations (e.g. cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and cost-utility analyses) of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments will be included. Comprehensive literature searches will be conducted in multiple electronic databases (from 1990 onwards): MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, ProQuest, EconLit, CRD databases (e.g. NHS Economic Evaluation database), and Tufts Cost-Effectiveness Registry. Two authors will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. The methodological quality (or risk of bias) of individual studies will be appraised using an appropriate tool. A systematic narrative synthesis will be provided with information presented in the text and tables to summarise and explain the characteristics and findings of the studies. If feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analysis. DISCUSSION:This review will identify gaps in the current body of evidence relating to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of rural and remote emergency telehealth services. By confining to articles written in the English language, this analysis may be subjected to publication bias and results need to be interpreted accordingly. We believe the results of this review could be valuable for the design of future economic evaluations of emergency telehealth services implemented in the rural and remote context. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION:PROSPERO CRD42019145903.

SUBMITTER: Tsou C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7164257 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments: a systematic review protocol.

Tsou Christina C Robinson Suzanne S Boyd James J Jamieson Andrew A Blakeman Robert R Bosich Kylie K Yeung Justin J Waters Stephanie S Hendrie Delia D

Systematic reviews 20200417 1

<h4>Background</h4>Emergency telehealth has been used to improve accessibility of rural and remote patients to specialist care. Evidence to date has demonstrated effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments within a variety of contexts. However, systematic reviews to date have not focused on the rural and remote emergency departments. The purpose of this study is to review the outcome measures used in evaluations of emergency telehealth in rural an ...[more]

PMID: 32303253

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Project description:BackgroundEmergency telehealth has been used to improve access of patients residing in rural and remote areas to specialist care in the hope of mitigating the significant health disparities that they experience. Patient disposition decisions in rural and remote emergency departments (EDs) can be complex and largely dependent on the expertise and experience available at local (receiving-end) hospitals. Although there has been some synthesis of evidence of the effectiveness of emergency telehealth in clinical practice in rural and remote EDs for nonacute presentations, there has been limited evaluation of the influence of contextual factors such as clinical area and acuity of presentation on these findings.ObjectiveThe aims of this systematic review are to examine the outcome measures used in studying the effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote EDs and to analyze the clinical context in which these outcome measures were used and interpreted.MethodsThe search strategy used Medical Subject Headings and equivalent lists of subject descriptors to find articles covering 4 key domains: telehealth or telemedicine, EDs, effectiveness, and rural and remote. Studies were selected using the Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes of Interest, and Study Design framework. This search strategy was applied to MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, ProQuest, and EconLit, as well as the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination databases (eg, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database) for the search period from January 1, 1990, to May 23, 2020. Qualitative synthesis was performed on the outcome measures used in the included studies, in particular the clinical contexts within which they were interpreted.ResultsA total of 21 full-text articles were included for qualitative analysis. Telehealth use in rural and remote EDs demonstrated effectiveness in achieving improved or equivalent clinical effectiveness, appropriate care processes, and-depending on the context-improvement in speed of care, as well as favorable service use patterns. The definition of effectiveness varied across the clinical areas and contexts of the studies, and different measures have been used to affirm the safety and clinical effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote EDs. The acuity of patient presentation emerged as a dominant consideration in the interpretation of interlinking time-sensitive clinical effectiveness and patient disposition measures such as transfer and discharge rates, local hospital admission, length of stay, and ED length of stay. These, together with clinical area and acuity of presentation, are the outcome determination criteria that emerged from this review.ConclusionsEmergency telehealth studies typically use multiple outcome measures to determine the effectiveness of the services. The outcome determination criteria that emerged from this analysis are useful when defining the favorable direction for each outcome measure of interest. The findings of this review have implications for emergency telehealth service design and policies.Trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42019145903; https://tinyurl.com/ndmkr8ry.

Project description:IntroductionAfter-hours services are essential in ensuring patients with life limiting illness and their caregivers are supported to enable continuity of care. Telehealth is a valuable approach to meeting after-hours support needs of people living with life-limiting illness, their families, and caregivers in rural and remote communities. It is important to explore the provision of after-hours palliative care services using telehealth to understand the reach of these services in rural and remote Australia. A preliminary search of databases failed to reveal any scoping or systematic reviews of telehealth in after-hours palliative care services in rural or remote Australia.AimTo review and map the available evidence about the use of telehealth in providing after-hours palliative care services in Australian rural and remote communities.MethodsThe proposed scoping review will be conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework and in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. The reporting of the scoping review will be guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This review will consider research and evaluation of after-hours services using telehealth for palliative care stakeholders in rural and remote Australia. Peer reviewed studies and grey literature published in English from 2000 to May 2021 will be included. Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete, Embase via Ovid, PsycINFO via Ovid, Emcare via Ovid, Medline via Ovid, and grey literature will be searched for relevant articles. Titles and abstracts will be screened by two independent reviewers for assessment against the inclusion criteria. Data will be extracted and analysed by two reviewers using an adapted data extraction tool and thematic analysis techniques. Diagrams, tables, and summary narratives will be used to map, summarise and thematically group the characteristics of palliative care telehealth services in rural and remote Australia, including stakeholders' perceptions and benefits and challenges of the services.

Project description:There is a need to develop new, more cost-effective models of healthcare and in this vein there is a considerable international interest in exploiting the potential offered by major developments in health information technologies (HITs). Very substantial investments are, as a result, now being made globally, but these still probably only represent a fraction of the investments needed if healthcare is to make the transition from the paper to the digital era. Investing greater resources is, however, inherently challenging and unpopular at a time of financial austerity and this is furthermore complicated by the thus far variable evidence of health benefits and demonstrable short-term to medium-term returns associated with investments in HITs.Building on our related systematic overviews investigating the impact of HITs, we now seek to estimate the cost-effectiveness of HITs and as a secondary aim to identify potentially transferable lessons in relation to how to realise returns on investments in these technologies.We will conduct a systematic review to identify the empirical evidence base surrounding the return on investments from implementing HITs. Two reviewers will independently search major international databases for published, unpublished and on-going experimental and quasi-experimental studies of interest published during the period 1990-2013. These searches of bibliographic databases will be supplemented by contacting an international panel of experts. There will be no restriction on the language of publication of studies. Studies will be critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Economic Evaluations checklist. In view of the anticipated heterogeneity in intervention investigated, study design and health system contexts, we will undertake a descriptive, narrative and interpretative synthesis of data.Ethical approval is not required.These will be presented in one manuscript. The protocol is registered with the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) CRD42013005294.

Project description:IntroductionSmoking rates among people living in rural and remote areas are higher and quit rates are lower over the past 10 years compared with people living in suburban and urban areas. Higher smoking rates contribute to greater tobacco-related disease and morbidity in rural and remote areas. Physical and social isolation, greater exposure to pro-tobacco marketing, pro-tobacco social norms, and lower socioeconomic and educational levels are contributing to these higher smoking rates and lower quit rates. Smoking cessation interventions for people in rural and remote areas have been conducted, however little is known about their effectiveness or their mechanisms of action as well as the quality of such research. Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) are mechanisms of action derived from behaviour change theory, such as goal setting and reward. Improved understanding of the contribution of BCTs for smoking cessation in the rural and remote population will support future intervention development. We aim to review the literature on smoking cessation interventions for people living in rural and remote areas to inform evidence about intervention effectiveness and mechanisms of action.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review using seven scientific databases (EMBASE, MedLine, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, Informit Health and Scopus). We will include peer-reviewed journal articles published in English that examine a smoking cessation intervention delivered to people living in rural and remote areas in the USA, Canada and Australia. We will examine outcome data relating to intervention effectiveness (eg, point prevalence abstinence or continuous abstinence), as well as the BCTs used in included interventions and their relationship with intervention outcomes. We will also assess the feasibility, acceptability and quality of research interventions of included articles, and provide graded recommendations based on the review outcomes. Data will be synthesised using narrative approaches and interpreted using content analysis.Ethics and disseminationEthics was not required for this systematic review. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and at conferences by presentations.Prospero registration number177398.

Project description:BackgroundTelehealth for emergency stroke care delivery (telestroke) has had widespread adoption, enabling many hospitals to obtain stroke center certification. Telehealth for pediatric emergency care has been less widely adopted.ObjectiveOur primary objective was to determine whether differences in policy or certification requirements contributed to differential uptake of telestroke versus pediatric telehealth. We hypothesized that differences in financial incentives, based on differences in patient volume, prehospital routing policy, and certification requirements, contributed to differential emergency department (ED) adoption of telestroke versus pediatric telehealth.MethodsWe used the 2016 National Emergency Department Inventory-USA to identify EDs that were using telestroke and pediatric telehealth services. We surveyed all EDs using pediatric telehealth services (n=339) and a convenience sample of the 1758 EDs with telestroke services (n=366). The surveys characterized ED staffing, transfer patterns, reasons for adoption, and frequency of use. We used bivariate comparisons to examine differences in reasons for adoption and use between EDs with only telestroke services, only pediatric telehealth services, or both.ResultsOf the 442 EDs surveyed, 378 (85.5%) indicated use of telestroke, pediatric telehealth, or both. EDs with both services were smaller in bed size, volume, and ED attending coverage than those with only telestroke services or only pediatric telehealth services. EDs with telestroke services reported more frequent use, overall, than EDs with pediatric telehealth services: 14.1% (45/320) of EDs with telestroke services reported weekly use versus 2.9% (8/272) of EDs with pediatric telehealth services (P<.001). In addition, 37 out of 272 (13.6%) EDs with pediatric telehealth services reported no consults in the past year. Across applications, the most frequently selected reason for adoption was "improving level of clinical care." Policy-related reasons (ie, for compliance with outside certification or standards or for improving ED performance on quality metrics) were rarely indicated as the most important, but these reasons were indicated slightly more often for telestroke adoption (12/320, 3.8%) than for pediatric telehealth adoption (1/272, 0.4%; P=.003).ConclusionsIn 2016, more US EDs had telestroke services than pediatric telehealth services; among EDs with the technology, consults were more frequently made for stroke than for pediatric patients. The most frequently indicated reason for adoption among all EDs was related to clinical care.

Project description:BackgroundElectronic discharge communication tools (EDCTs) are increasingly common in pediatric emergency departments (EDs). These tools have been shown to improve patient-centered communication, support postdischarge care at home, and reduce unnecessary return visits to the ED.ObjectiveThis study aimed to map and assess the evidence base for EDCTs used in pediatric EDs according to their functionalities, intended purpose, implementation context features, and outcomes.MethodsA systematic review was conducted following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) procedures for identification, screening, and eligibility. A total of 7 databases (EBSCO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched for studies published between 1989 and 2021. Studies evaluating discharge communication-related outcomes using electronic tools (eg, text messages, videos, and kiosks) in pediatric EDs were included. In all, 2 researchers independently assessed the eligibility. Extracted data related to study identification, methodology, settings and demographics, intervention features, outcome implementation features, and practice, policy, and research implications. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool was used to assess methodological quality. The synthesis of results involved structured tabulation, vote counting, recoding into common metrics, inductive thematic analysis, descriptive statistics, and heat mapping.ResultsIn total, 231 full-text articles and abstracts were screened for review inclusion with 49 reports (representing 55 unique tools) included. In all, 70% (26/37) of the studies met at least three of five Mixed Method Appraisal Tool criteria. The most common EDCTs were videos, text messages, kiosks, and phone calls. The time required to use the tools ranged from 120 seconds to 80 minutes. The EDCTs were evaluated for numerous presenting conditions (eg, asthma, fracture, head injury, fever, and otitis media) that required a range of at-home care needs after the ED visit. The most frequently measured outcomes were knowledge acquisition, caregiver and patient beliefs and attitudes, and health service use. Unvalidated self-report measures were typically used for measurement. Health care provider satisfaction or system-level impacts were infrequently measured in studies. The directionality of primary outcomes pointed to positive effects for the primary measure (44/55, 80%) or no significant difference (10/55, 18%). Only one study reported negative findings, with an increase in return visits to the ED after receiving the intervention compared with the control group.ConclusionsThis review is the first to map the broad literature of EDCTs used in pediatric EDs. The findings suggest a promising evidence base, demonstrating that EDCTs have been successfully integrated across clinical contexts and deployed via diverse technological modalities. Although caregiver and patient satisfaction with EDCTs is high, future research should use robust trials using consistent measures of communication quality, clinician experience, cost-effectiveness, and health service use to accumulate evidence regarding these outcomes.Trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42020157500; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=157500.

Project description:IntroductionCommunity paramedicine models have been developed around the world in response to demographic changes, healthcare system needs and reforms. The traditional role of the paramedic has primarily been to provide emergency medical response and transportation of patients to nearby medical facilities. As a response to healthcare service gaps in underserved communities and the growing professionalisation of the workforce, the role of community paramedicine has evolved as a new model of care. A community paramedicine model in one region might address other healthcare needs than a model in another region. Various terms are also in use for community paramedicine providers, with no consensus on the definition for community paramedics, although the definition used by the International Roundtable on Community Paramedicine has been widely accepted. We aimed to examine the current knowledge and possibly identify gaps in the research/knowledge base for cost-benefit analysis and safety concerning community paramedicine in rural areas using a scoping review methodology.Methods and analysisThis scoping review will follow the methodology developed by Arksey and O'Malley and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. In October 2020, we will search electronic databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane and Embase) and the reference lists of key studies to identify studies for inclusion. The selection process is in two steps. First, two reviewers will independently screen identified articles for title and abstracts and, second, perform a full-text review of eligible studies for inclusion. Studies focusing on community paramedicine in rural areas, which include cost-benefit analysis or safety evaluation, will be included.Ethics and disseminationThe data used are available from publicly secondary sources, therefore this study will not require ethical review. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication.

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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments: a systematic review protocol.

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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telehealth in rural and remote emergency departments: a systematic review protocol.

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