Hobson, E.V. orcid.org/0000-0002-8497-2338, Baird, W., Cooper, C. et al. (3 more authors) (2016) Using technology to improve access to specialist care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A systematic review. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 17 (5-6). pp. 313-324. ISSN 2167-8421
Abstract
Our objective was to review the evidence for using technology to improve access to specialist care for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their carers. Medline, Google Scholar and the Cochrane library were searched for articles describing technology that enabled clinical care of patients with ALS or their carers where the patient/carer and clinician were not in the same location. Two applications were identified: telemedicine to facilitate video conferencing as an alternative to outpatient consultations and telehealth monitoring for patients with respiratory failure. One randomized controlled trial using telehealth in patients with respiratory failure including 22 patients with ALS was identified. While rates of hospitalization were reduced, overall mortality was unchanged and there were too few patients with ALS in the study to detect significant benefit. In conclusion, there is limited evidence to support the use of telemedicine or telehealth in the care of patients with ALS. Future research needs to develop an understanding of the key beneficial aspects of the traditional specialist ALS service and how these factors could be delivered using technology. Successful evaluation and implementation of technologies to facilitate access to specialist care will only be possible if all the relevant impacts of an intervention are understood and measured.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Informa Healthcare. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; telemedicine; ventilation; therapy; survival |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH NF-SI-0512-10082 NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH UNSPECIFIED MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE ASSOCIATION McDermott/Jun14/900-790 NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH UNSPECIFIED |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Apr 2016 11:09 |
Last Modified: | 14 Apr 2017 03:51 |
Published Version: | https://dx.doi.org/10.3109/21678421.2016.1165255 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Informa Healthcare |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3109/21678421.2016.1165255 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:97691 |