CC11
Virtual Home Visits for Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Telemedicine, in particular the virtual home visit, is a useful application of technology that could be applied to the field of multiple sclerosis (MS.) This technology could increase access to neurologic care for the many MS patients who do not currently receive care from a neurologist.
Nearly 30% of MS patients do not receive care from a neurologist. The costs of travel to distant neurology clinics can be prohibitive for poor patients. Patients with mobility dysfunction may also have limited access to neurologists due to travel limitations.
Telemedicine, specifically the virtual home visit, has the potential to increase access to neurologic care for MS patients who cannot travel to neurology clinics due to the associated costs or mobility limitations. Telemedicine is the provision of health care or health education using audio-visual (AV) connections. Virtual home visits are one particular application of telemedicine. Providers conduct initial consultations or follow-up visits while the patient is at home using an AV connection.
Virtual home visits have been successfully utilized in several other neurologic subspecialties. For example, a study by movement disorder specialists at the University of Rochester found virtual home visits for Parkinson’s disease patients to be feasible. Patients and caregivers also reported high levels of satisfaction with the virtual visits, in part due to substantial savings of time and money because travel to the neurology clinic was avoided.
A review of the literature did not reveal any examples of MS specialists providing virtual house calls to patients. However, other applications of telemedicine have been successfully used in MS care, including MS specialists providing consultations to distant healthcare providers.
Given the success of other neurologic subspecialties using virtual home visits, combined with the clear need to increase MS patients’ access to neurologic care, using virtual home visits could address this need.
Objectives:
To determine if virtual home visits for MS patients are feasible and satisfactory to patients.
Methods:
The MS Clinic at the University of Rochester will conduct a small randomized trial to assess the feasibility and satisfaction of virtual home visits for MS patients. If this is shown to be feasible, later studies will focus on the important question of whether this technology can increase access to neurologic care for the many MS patients who currently lack this access.
Results:
None
Conclusions:
None