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Feasibility and Acceptability of Telemedicine-Facilitated Palliative Care Consultations in Rural Dialysis Units.
- Source :
-
Journal of Palliative Medicine . Sep2021, Vol. 24 Issue 9, p1307-1313. 7p. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: Patients receiving dialysis have unmet palliative care needs. Limited access to palliative care is a key barrier to its integration into routine dialysis care. Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of telepalliative care in rural dialysis units. Methods: This was a single-arm pilot clinical trial. The target population was patients with kidney failure receiving outpatient dialysis in a rural U.S. state. Feasibility was measured by one-month completion rate. Acceptability was measured using an adapted telemedicine questionnaire. Results: We recruited 39 patients with mean age 71.2 years to undergo a telepalliative care consultation while receiving dialysis. Four specialty palliative care clinicians (three physicians and one nurse practitioner) conducted the visits. The recruitment rate was 40% (39/96), scheduling rate was 100% (39/39), and one-month completion rate was 77% (30/39). Thirty-six patient participants (14 women and 22 men) completed the baseline survey. Audiovisual aspects of the visit were rated highly. More than 80% reported the visit being at least as good as an in-person visit and 41% felt the teleconsult was better. Eighty-one percent of patients felt the appointment was relevant to them, 58% felt they learned new things about their condition, and 27% reported the appointment changed the way they think about dialysis. Discussion: Telepalliative care is acceptable to patients receiving dialysis and is a feasible approach to integrating palliative care in rural dialysis units. The study was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03744117). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10966218
- Volume :
- 24
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Palliative Medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 152206309
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2020.0647