Spondyloarthritis & psoriatic arthritis
Experiences with patient-initiated follow-up supported by asynchronous telemedicine in spondyloarthritis: a mixed methods study
Authors' conclusion
PIFU/TM was perceived as an acceptable approach for the follow-up of motivated patients with SpA with adequate health literacy and digital literacy.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and their healthcare providers who previously participated in the 'TeleSpA' RCT; Patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU)/telemedicine (TM) = once-yearly pre-planned physical visit with remote monitoring at 6 months13 healthcare providers (HCPs) completed survey
- Participants
- 21 vs 9
- Exposure
- PIFU supported by asynchronous TM vs past experiences with usual care
- Patientsn = 21
- HCPsn = 9
- Outcome
- Experiences with PIFU/TM vs usual care and prerequisites for sustainable implementation
Methodological detailssemi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, quantitative survey analysed descriptively, participants from the 'TeleSpA' RCT
- Semi-structured interviews
- Thematic analysis
- Quantitative survey analysed descriptively
- Participants from the 'TeleSpA' RCT
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Experiences with PIFU/TM
- Most patients and HCPs found PIFU/TM acceptable, given sufficient health literacy, digital literacy and motivation
- Most patients felt no burdensome changes to their personal responsibility; in-person and remote communication ran smoothly
- Patient advantages: time savings, improved disease insight and self-efficacy
- Some HCPs experienced increased flexibility in daily planning
- Prerequisites: infrastructure for ad hoc diagnostic tests, assured rapid access to outpatient clinic, technical and logistical support, user-friendly monitoring tool integrated with hospital information systems
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Experiences with patient-initiated follow-up supported by asynchronous telemedicine in spondyloarthritis: a mixed methods study. Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 5 December 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →