Project description:ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel scoring system, the Encounter Appropriateness Score for You (EASY), to assess provider perceptions of telehealth appropriateness in rheumatology encounters.MethodsThe EASY scoring system prompts providers to rate their own encounters as follows: in-person or telehealth acceptable, EASY = 1; in-person preferred, EASY = 2; or telehealth preferred, EASY = 3. Assessment of the EASY scoring system occurred at a single academic institution from January 1, 2021, to August 31, 2021. Data were collected in three rounds: 1) initial survey (31 providers) assessing EASY responsiveness to five hypothetical scenarios, 2) follow-up survey (34 providers) exploring EASY responsiveness to 11 scenario modifications, and 3) assessment of EASYs documented in clinic care.ResultsThe initial and follow-up surveys demonstrated responsiveness of EASYs to different clinical and nonclinical factors. For instance, less than 20% of providers accepted telehealth when starting a biologic for active rheumatoid arthritis, although more than 35% accepted telehealth in the same scenario if the patient lived far away or was well known to the provider. Regarding EASY documentation, 27 providers provided EASYs for 12,381 encounters. According to these scores, telehealth was acceptable or preferred for 29.7% of all encounters, including 21.4% of in-person encounters. Conversely, 24.4% of telehealth encounters were scored as in-person preferred.ConclusionEASY is simple, understandable, and responsive to changes in the clinical scenario. We have successfully accumulated 12,381 EASYs that can be studied in future work to better understand telehealth utility and optimize telehealth triage.
Project description:BackgroundNo goniometric technique is both maximally convenient and completely accurate, although photogoniometry (ie, picture taking to facilitate digital angle measurement) shows promise in this regard. Our purpose was to test the feasibility and reliability of a photogoniometric protocol designed to measure wrist and digit range of motion in general.MethodsTwo independent observers examined a sample of joints in both normal and abnormal hands according to a photogoniometric protocol. Interrater and intrarater correlation were calculated, and these measurements were compared with measurements made by a third independent examiner with a manual goniometer.ResultsThe photo-based measurements were reliable within and between observers; however, only a minority of these measurements were in agreement with manually collected values.ConclusionsAt present, photogoniometry is not an acceptable alternative to manual goniometry for determining wrist and digit range of motion in general. Joint-specific photogoniometry should be the subject of future study, as should relevant imaging and software technology.
Project description:Although the orientations of the hand and forearm vary for different wrist rehabilitation protocols, their effect on muscle forces has not been quantified. Physiologic simulators enable a biomechanical evaluation of the joint by recreating functional motions in cadaveric specimens. Control strategies used to actuate joints in physiologic simulators usually employ position or force feedback alone to achieve optimum load distribution across the muscles. After successful tests on a phantom limb, unique combinations of position and force feedback - hybrid control and cascade control - were used to simulate multiple cyclic wrist motions of flexion-extension, radioulnar deviation, dart thrower's motion, and circumduction using six muscles in ten cadaveric specimens. Low kinematic errors and coefficients of variation of muscle forces were observed for planar and complex wrist motions using both novel control strategies. The effect of gravity was most pronounced when the hand was in the horizontal orientation, resulting in higher extensor forces (p<0.017) and higher out-of-plane kinematic errors (p<0.007), as compared to the vertically upward or downward orientations. Muscle forces were also affected by the direction of rotation during circumduction. The peak force of flexor carpi radialis was higher in clockwise circumduction (p=0.017), while that of flexor carpi ulnaris was higher in anticlockwise circumduction (p=0.013). Thus, the physiologic wrist simulator accurately replicated cyclic planar and complex motions in cadaveric specimens. Moreover, the dependence of muscle forces on the hand orientation and the direction of circumduction could be vital in the specification of such parameters during wrist rehabilitation.
Project description:ImportanceTelehealth has emerged as a means of improving access and reducing cost for medical oncology care; however, use by specialists prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic still remained low. Medical oncology professionals' perceptions of telehealth for cancer care are largely unknown, but are critical to telehealth utilization and expansion efforts.ObjectiveTo identify medical oncology health professionals' perceptions of the barriers to and benefits of telehealth video visits.Design, setting, and participantsThis qualitative study used interviews conducted from October 30, 2019, to March 5, 2020, of medical oncology health professionals at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, an urban academic health system in the US with a cancer center. All medical oncology physicians, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners at the hospital were eligible to participate. A combination of volunteer and convenience sampling was used, resulting in the participation of 29 medical oncology health professionals, including 20 physicians and 9 advanced practice professionals, in semistructured interviews.Main outcomes and measuresMedical oncology health professionals' perceptions of barriers to and benefits of telehealth video visits as experienced by patients receiving cancer treatment.ResultsOf the 29 participants, 15 (52%) were women and 22 (76%) were White, with a mean (SD) age of 48.5 (12.0) years. Respondents' perceptions were organized using the 4 domains of the National Quality Forum framework: clinical effectiveness, patient experience, access to care, and financial impact. Respondents disagreed on the clinical effectiveness and potential limitations of the virtual physical examination, as well as on the financial impact on patients. Respondents also largely recognized the convenience and improved access to care enabled by telehealth for patients. However, many reported concern regarding the health professional-patient relationship and their limited ability to comfort patients in a virtual setting.Conclusions and relevanceMedical oncology health professionals shared conflicting opinions regarding the barriers to and benefits of telehealth in regard to clinical effectiveness, patient experience, access to care, and financial impact. Understanding oncologists' perceptions of telehealth elucidates potential barriers that need to be further investigated or improved for telehealth expansion and continued utilization; further research is ongoing to assess current perceptions of health professionals and patients given the rapid expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project description:IntroductionThere are disparities in multiple aspects of pediatric asthma care; however, prehospital care disparities are largely undescribed. This study's objective was to examine racial and geographic disparities in emergency medical services (EMS) medication administration to pediatric patients with asthma.MethodsThis is a substudy of the Early Administration of Steroids in the Ambulance Setting: An Observational Design Trial, which includes data from pediatric asthma patients ages 2-18 years. We examined rates of EMS administration of systemic corticosteroids and inhaled bronchodilators by patient race. We geocoded EMS scene addresses, characterized the locations' neighborhood-based conditions and resources relevant to children using the Child Opportunity Index (COI) 2.0, and analyzed associations between EMS scene address COI with medications administered by EMS.ResultsA total of 765 patients had available racial data and 825 had scene addresses that were geocoded to a COI. EMS administered at least 1 bronchodilator to 84.7% (n = 492) of non-White patients and 83.2% of White patients (n = 153), P = 0.6. EMS administered a systemic corticosteroid to 19.4% (n = 113) of non-White patients and 20.1% (n = 37) of White patients, P = 0.8. There was a significant difference in bronchodilator administration between COI categories of low/very low versus moderate/high/very high (85.0%, n = 485 vs. 75.9%, n = 192, respectively, P = 0.003).ConclusionsThere were no racial differences in EMS administration of medications to pediatric asthma patients. However, there were significantly higher rates of EMS bronchodilator administration for encounters in low/very low COIs. That latter finding may reflect inequities in asthma exacerbation severity for patients living in disadvantaged areas.