Telemedicine Commons^™

Federally Qualified Health Center Patients’ Experiences With Remote Patient Monitoring As Part Of Telehealth Services For Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring, Natalia I Heredia, Maria E Fernandez, Ella R Garza, Jabria Pittman, Fernanda Velasco-Huerta, Tracy L Judd, Jocelyn Hunyadi, Elvis Longanga Diese, Deevakar Rogith, William B Perkison, Susan H Fenton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) for hypertension management has become increasingly popular, demonstrating benefits for both clinics and patients. However, patient engagement in self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring remains low despite healthcare providers' efforts. This study aimed to assess adherence and acceptance of RPM for SMBP among Texas Federally Qualified Health Center patients.

METHODS: Participants enrolled in the SMBP monitoring program were recruited at three health centers. Data was collected from patient health records, and a questionnaire assessed hypertension self-management, technology acceptance, intentions, and attitudes toward SMBP. Thematic analysis was conducted for open-ended responses that followed each item, and multivariate …

Patient-Reported Convenience And Effectiveness Of Telehealth For Breast Cancer Management, Akshara Singareeka Raghavendra, Kristofer Jennings, Gil Guerra, Debu Tripathy, Meghan S Karuturi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telehealth was rarely used for breast cancer management at tertiary care centers. We sought to examine patient satisfaction, experiences, preferences, and perceived effectiveness and technical quality of telehealth visits in follow-up patients receiving routine outpatient care in the breast medical oncology practice at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Methods: We administered a survey to 60 follow-up patients for a duration of 9 months (January 5, 2021 to October 27, 2021) who had at least one telehealth consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic, from April 10, 2020 to October 21, 2021. …

Development And Preliminary Validation Of A Screener For Digital Health Readiness, Kristin Rising, Amanda Guth, Alexzandra Gentsch, Karla Martin Gonzalez, Richard Hass, Lindsey Shughart, Serena Gelfer, Megan Mcvane, Brooke Worster, Amy Leader

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: While telehealth use has grown, patient uptake is variable, which has the potential to increase health disparities. Identifying and understanding individuals' barriers to digital health readiness can help health systems efficiently deploy resources to provide personalized patient-centered support.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate an instrument to evaluate digital health readiness to identify and quantify barriers to digital readiness.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this qualitative mixed-methods study conducted from April 26, 2022, to June 8, 2023, the instrument was created in 4 phases. Patients and health care professionals were interviewed to explore barriers to telehealth use, scale items were …

Post-Covid-19 Cognitive Symptoms In Patients Assisted By A Teleassistance Service: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Lívia Paula Freire Bonfim, Thais Rotsen Correa, Bruno Cabaleiro Cortizo Freire, Thais Marques Pedroso, Daniella Nunes Pereira, Thalita Baptisteli Fernandes, Luciane Kopittke, Clara Rodrigues Alves De Oliveira, Antonio Lucio Teixeira, Milena Soriano Marcolino

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the frequency of long-term post-COVID-19 cognitive symptoms is a matter of concern given the impact it may have on the work and quality of life of affected people.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of post-acute COVID-19 cognitive symptoms, as well as the associated risk factors.

METHODS: Retrospective cohort, including outpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and who were assisted by a public telehealth service provided by the Telehealth Network of Minas Gerais (TNMG), during the acute phase of the disease, between December/2020 and March/2022. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, applied …

Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychology: Insights And Lessons Learned During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicole M Schneider, Dara M Steinberg, Andrea M Garcia, Jessy Guler, Emily Mudd, A Monica Agoston, Katherine N Schwartzkopf, Kristin A Kullgren, Laura Judd-Glossy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

COVID-19 has presented a variety of challenges to the provision of psychology services. In the first month of the pandemic, pediatric consultation-liaison (CL) psychologists reported significant changes in methodology of service delivery (Steinberg et al. in Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol 9:1, 2020). To better understand how and if these changes persisted, as well as other emerging trends, a follow-up study examined changes and challenges six months into the pandemic. An anonymous questionnaire assessed topics related to pediatric CL psychology including practice changes, perception of changes, and institutional support. The questionnaire was sent to the APA Society of Pediatric Society's special …

Conducting Clinical Genomics Research During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned From The Cser Consortium Experience, Stephanie A Kraft, Heidi Russell, Jeannette T Bensen, Katherine E Bonini, Jill O Robinson, Nuriye Sahin-Hodoglugil, Kathleen Renna, Lucia A Hindorff, Dave Kaufman, Carol R Horowitz, Margaret Waltz, Jamilyn M Zepp, Sara J Knight

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clinical research studies have navigated many changes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to describe the pandemic's impact on research operations in the context of a clinical genomics research consortium that aimed to enroll a majority of participants from underrepresented populations. We interviewed (July to November 2020) and surveyed (May to August 2021) representatives of six projects in the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research (CSER) consortium, which studies the implementation of genome sequencing in the clinical care of patients from populations that are underrepresented in genomics research or are medically underserved. Questions focused on COVID's impact on participant recruitment, enrollment, and …

Burnout During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Report On Pediatric Residents, Linessa M Zuniga, Abigail Schuh, Alan Schwartz, Patricia Seo-Mayer, Rachel Cramton, Kira Sieplinga, Ruchi Kaushik, Lauren Nassetta, Jason H Homme, Jessica Babal, John D Mahan, Maneesh Batra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background and objective: The Pediatric Resident Burnout and Resilience Consortium (PRB-RSC) has described the epidemiology of burnout in pediatric residents since 2016. We hypothesized burnout rates during the pandemic would increase. We explored resident burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship to resident perception of workload, training, personal life, and local COVID burden.

Methods: Since 2016, PRB-RSC has sent an annual, confidential survey to over 30 pediatric and medicine-pediatrics residencies. In 2020 and 2021, seven questions were added to explore the relationship of COVID-19 and perceptions of workload, training, and personal life.

Results: In 2019, 46 programs participated, 22 …

Patient Preference For Virtual Versus In-Person Visits In Neuromuscular Clinical Practice, Komal Hafeez, Hani Kushlaf, Husam Al-Sultani, Anny-Claude Joseph, Zoya Zaeem, Zaeem Siddiqi, Shannon Laboy, Michael Pulley, Ali A Habib, Nathaniel M Robbins, Sean Zadeh, Muhammad Ubaid Hafeez, Yessar Hussain, Alexandria Melendez-Zaidi, Charles Kassardjian, Kristin Johnson, Holly Leonhard, Suur Biliciler, Jorge E Patino Murillas, Aziz I Shaibani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: It is unknown if patients with neuromuscular diseases prefer in-person or virtual telemedicine visits. We studied patient opinions and preference on virtual versus in-person visits, and the factors influencing such preferences.

METHODS: Telephone surveys, consisting of 11 questions, of patients from 10 neuromuscular centers were completed.

RESULTS: Five hundred and twenty surveys were completed. Twenty-six percent of respondents preferred virtual visits, while 50% preferred in-person visits. Sixty-four percent reported physical interaction as "very important." For receiving a new diagnosis, 55% preferred in-person vs 35% reporting no preference. Forty percent were concerned about a lack of physical examination vs 20% …