The effect of weekly specialist palliative care teleconsultations in patients with advanced cancer -a randomized clinical trial.
Source: Hoek et al. 2017 - Pubmed ID: 28625164
Setting: Nether-lands, University hospital and home care organi-zations
RCT
Follow up: 13 weeks
Sample size
Total: 74 (32)
IG: 38 (15)
CG: 36 (17)
Inclusion criteria:
- Advanced cancer with less than 3 months to live
- Home-dwelling
- Have a GP who agrees to participate
App
- Computer
- IPad with video
- Audio app
- Microphone
- Camera
- Problem solving
- Needs
- Treatment
Intervention: Teleconsultations from a hospital-based specialist palliative care consultation team (SPCT) effect on patient-experienced symptom burden. Initial assessment either at the outpatient clinic or at home. Weekly prescheduled teleconsultations with an SPCT-member. Participants could not directly contact the SPCT members through teleconsultation. The participant’s GP was invited to visit and join the patient during the teleconsultation appointments
Duration: 13 weeks
Add on: NA
Control group: Usual care
Clinical effect:
- Total Distress Score↑
- HADS-anxiety↑
- HADS-depression→
- Unmet palliative care needs→
- Satisfaction with teleconsultations→
- Burden experienced by informal caregivers→
Patient safety: NA
Patient experiences:
- Total Distress Score↑
- HADS-anxiety↑
- HADS-depression→
- Unmet palliative care needs→
- Satisfaction with teleconsultations→
- Burden experienced by informal caregivers→
Staff experiences: NA
Investment:
Equipment
- Teleconsultation system
Running:
Equipment
- Teleconsultation system
Staff
- Home assessment
- Technical instalation
- Adjustments
Organization:
- Collaboration between hospital and primary care
Health care utilization:
- Continuity of care→
- Hospital admissions→