Browsing by Author "Wilkinson, Jayne"

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    Patient acceptance of teleneurology across neurologic conditions
    (Springer, 2024) Seigel, Courtney R.; Martin, Holly; Bastin, Grace; Myers, Laura J.; Taylor, Stan; Pike, Francis; Wilkinson, Jayne; Williams, Linda S.; Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Introduction: Patient acceptability with outpatient teleneurology has been reported within specific conditions, but less is known about acceptability across neurologic conditions. The study objective was to compare the acceptability of teleneurology between patients with various neurological conditions and determine what other factors influence acceptability. Methods: This was a prospective study of Veterans who completed new outpatient teleneurology visits with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Teleneurology Program. Visits were conducted via video to home or video to the outpatient clinic. Patient acceptability was assessed via telephone interview two weeks post-visit. Acceptability was a summed score (3-21) of three 7-point Likert questions (higher = more acceptable). Clinical diagnosis categories were based on the neurologists' ICD10 diagnosis code. Acceptability score was modeled using a censored Tobit model controlling for demographics, type of tele-visit, medical comorbidity, and ICD10 category. Results: In FY 2021, 277 of 637 (43.5%) patients completed an interview with analyzable acceptability data. Of these 277, 70 (25.3%) had codes indicating headache, 46 (16.6%) movement disorder, 45 (16.2%) general symptoms, and 116 (41.9%) for all other categories. Mean patient acceptability was 18.3 (SD 3.2). There was no significant difference in scores between these groups. The only factor independently related to acceptability was medical comorbidity, with higher comorbidity associated with higher acceptability scores. Discussion: Patients find their outpatient teleneurology experience highly acceptable independent of neurologic condition. Those with more comorbidity report higher acceptability. Use of teleneurology may be useful and acceptable across many outpatient neurologic conditions including for more medically complex patients.
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    The VA National Teleneurology Program (NTNP): Implementing Teleneurology to Improve Equitable Access to Outpatient Neurology Care
    (Springer, 2023) Wilkinson, Jayne; Myers, Laura; Daggy, Joanne; Martin, Holly; Bastin, Grace; Yang, Ziyi; Damush, Teresa; Narechania, Aditi; Schriber, Steve; Williams, Linda S.; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, School of Medicine
    Background: Telehealth is increasingly utilized in many healthcare systems to improve access to specialty care and better allocate limited resources, especially for rurally residing persons who face unique barriers to care. Objectives: The VHA sought to address critical gaps in access to neurology care by developing and implementing the first outpatient National Teleneurology Program (NTNP). Design: Pre-post evaluation of intervention and control sites. Participants: NTNP sites and VA control sites; Veterans completing an NTNP consult and their referring providers. Intervention: Implementation of the NTNP at participating sites. Main measures: NTNP and community care neurology (CCN) volume of consults before and after implementation; time to schedule and complete consults; Veteran satisfaction. Key results: In FY2021, the NTNP was implemented at 12 VA sites; 1521 consults were placed and 1084 (71.3%) were completed. NTNP consults were scheduled (10.1 vs 29.0 days, p < 0.001) and completed (44.0 vs 96.9 days, p < 0.001) significantly faster than CCN consults. Post-implementation, monthly CCN consult volume was unchanged at NTNP sites compared to pre-implementation (mean change of 4.6 consults per month, [95% CI - 4.3, 13.6]), but control sites had a significant increase (mean change of 24.4 [5.2, 43.7]). The estimated difference in mean change in CCN consults between NTNP and control sites persisted after adjusting for local neurology availability (p < 0.001). Veterans (N = 259) were highly satisfied with NTNP care (mean (SD) overall satisfaction score 6.3 (1.2) on a 7-point Likert scale). Conclusions: Implementation of NTNP resulted in more timely neurologic care than care in the community. The observed significant increase in monthly CCN consults at non-participating sites during the post-implementation period was not seen at NTNP sites. Veterans were highly satisfied with Teleneurology care.