An Enhanced Home-Based Telemedicine Program Using Remote Examination Devices for Children With Medical Complexity Receiving Comprehensive Care: a Single-Center Randomized Controlled Trial
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Summary
The purpose of this study is to assess if the benefits for children with medical complexity (CMC) receiving comprehensive care (CC) in an enhanced medical home can be further improved by enhanced telemedicine program (ETM) provided during clinic hours using mobile devices to measure temperature\& oxygen saturation, auscultate the heart \& lungs, and view the skin, throat, \& tympanic membranes in the home.
Eligibility
- Age range
- Up to 18 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Greater than or equal to 2 hospitalizations or greater than or equal to 1 ICU admission in the year before joining the comprehensive care program * Greater than 50 percent estimated risk of hospitalization without our care as judged by the medical director Exclusion Criteria: * Major heart disease * Mitochondrial disorders * Active cancer * Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order * Patients receiving compassionate care
Interventions
- OtherCC
To promote prompt effective care for medically complex children at all hours, we developed an outpatient comprehensive care (CC) program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTH) that now includes a hospital consultation service by the outpatient CC providers (the hospital component) and a conventional telemedicine (CTM) audio-visual program (the home component).
- Deviceenhanced telemedicine (ETM)
An enhanced telemedicine program (using HIPAA-compliant, mobile TytoCareTM devices) will be added to CC to allow providers to remotely visualize the skin, throat, \& ears, auscultate the heart \& lungs, and measure illnesses during clinic hours and chronic illnesses during the detailed patient evaluation to be conducted at least every 6 months by "virtual patient rounds" in the home. These visits will involve the parent(s), the PCP, and if needed any of 10 specialists, particularly pulmonology, gastroenterology, neurology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. A social worker, nutritionist, or psychologist will be involved as needed. Each PCP will perform 2-3 virtual patient rounds per week to proactively identify medical problems, suboptimal adherence to treatment, dosing errors, or other problems and intervene before CMC develop a serious illness or require avoidable clinic visits, Emergency Department visits, or hospitalizations.
Location
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonHouston, Texas