Telemedicine Facilitates Follow-Ups in Headache Clinics During COVID-19 Pandemic

Strategic Insights -

Research conducted by the University of L'Aquila in Italy has demonstrated the effectiveness of telemedicine in facilitating follow-ups in headache clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 100 patients who underwent two appointments with a nurse and a headache physician using Microsoft Teams, resulting in 207 telemedicine visits. The findings showed high patient satisfaction, with 78.6% of patients reporting high satisfaction and 93.5% reporting ease of sharing documents.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study involved 100 patients with a median age of 44 years, 76% of whom were women, and lived at a median distance of 68 km from the Headache Specialist Center.
  • Most patients (68.1%) used a computer for telemedicine visits, with high audio-video quality in 93.2% of visits.
  • First and second appointments lasted for a median of 20 minutes and 9 minutes, respectively, with 66.7% of visits reported as very easy.
  • Patients reported no difficulty in sharing documents in 78.6% of visits and high satisfaction in 93.5% of visits.
  • Perceived complexity of clinical decisions was low in 86.5% of cases, while 8.2% of cases required in-person re-evaluation.

Statistics:

  • 207 telemedicine visits were conducted, involving 100 patients with a median age of 44 years.
  • 76% of patients were women, and lived at a median distance of 68 km from the Headache Specialist Center.
  • 68.1% of telemedicine visits used a computer, with high audio-video quality in 93.2% of visits.
  • First and second appointments lasted for a median of 20 minutes and 9 minutes, respectively.
  • Patients reported high satisfaction in 88.2% of visits, with 93.5% reporting ease of sharing documents.

Sources:

  • The Covid-19 Pandemic As an Opportunity To Improve Health Care Through a Nurse-coordinated Multidisciplinary Model In a Headache Specialist Center: the Implementation of a Telemedicine Protocol. Telemedicine and e-Health, 2022;28(7):1016-1022.
  • Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com)
  • Telemedicine and e-Health (www.liebertpub.com/overview/telemedicine-and-e-health/54/)
  • Valeria Caponnetto, University of L'Aquila, Neuroscience Section, Dept Appl Clin Sci & Biotechnol, Laquila, Italy.