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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Jul;22(7):590-8.
doi: 10.1089/tmj.2015.0191. Epub 2016 Feb 17.

National Randomized Controlled Trial of Virtual House Calls for People with Parkinson's Disease: Interest and Barriers

E Ray Dorsey  1   2 , Meredith A Achey  3 , Christopher A Beck  4 , Denise B Beran  5 , Kevin M Biglan  1 , Cynthia M Boyd  6 , Peter N Schmidt  5 , Richard Simone  7 , Allison W Willis  8   9 , Nicholas B Galifianakis  10 , Maya Katz  10 , Caroline M Tanner  10 , Kristen Dodenhoff  10 , Nathan Ziman  10 , Jason Aldred  11 , Julie Carter  12 , Joohi Jimenez-Shahed  13 , Christine Hunter  13 , Meredith Spindler  8 , Zoltan Mari  14 , John C Morgan  15 , Dedi McLane  15 , Patrick Hickey  16 , Lisa Gauger  16 , Irene Hegeman Richard  1 , Michael T Bull  1 , Nicte I Mejia  17 , Grace Bwala  17 , Martha Nance  18 , Ludy Shih  19 , Lauren Anderson  19 , Carlos Singer  20 , Cindy Zadikoff  21 , Natalia Okon  21 , Andrew Feigin  22 , Jean Ayan  22 , Christina Vaughan  23 , Rajesh Pahwa  24 , Jessica Cooper  24 , Sydney Webb  24 , Rohit Dhall  25 , Anhar Hassan  26 , Delana Weis  26 , Steven DeMello  27 , Sara S Riggare  28 , Paul Wicks  29 , Joseph Smith  30 , H Tait Keenan  2 , Ryan Korn  2 , Heidi Schwarz  1 , Saloni Sharma  2 , E Anna Stevenson  2 , William Zhu  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

National Randomized Controlled Trial of Virtual House Calls for People with Parkinson's Disease: Interest and Barriers

E Ray Dorsey et al. Telemed J E Health. 2016 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Delivering specialty care remotely directly into people's homes can enhance access for and improve the healthcare of individuals with chronic conditions. However, evidence supporting this approach is limited.

Materials and methods: Connect.Parkinson is a randomized comparative effectiveness study that compares usual care of individuals with Parkinson's disease in the community with usual care augmented by virtual house calls with a Parkinson's disease specialist from 1 of 18 centers nationally. Individuals in the intervention arm receive four virtual visits from a Parkinson's disease specialist over 1 year via secure, Web-based videoconferencing directly into their homes. All study activities, including recruitment, enrollment, and assessments, are conducted remotely. Here we report on interest, feasibility, and barriers to enrollment in this ongoing study.

Results: During recruitment, 11,734 individuals visited the study's Web site, and 927 unique individuals submitted electronic interest forms. Two hundred ten individuals from 18 states enrolled in the study from March 2014 to June 2015, and 195 were randomized. Most participants were white (96%) and college educated (73%). Of the randomized participants, 73% had seen a Parkinson's disease specialist within the previous year.

Conclusions: Among individuals with Parkinson's disease, national interest in receiving remote specialty care directly into the home is high. Remote enrollment in this care model is feasible but is likely affected by differential access to the Internet.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease; access to care; chronic conditions; home healthcare; randomized controlled trial; specialists; telemedicine; videoconferencing.

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Figures

<b>Fig. 1.</b>
Fig. 1.
Flowchart of study participants.
<b>Fig. 2.</b>
Fig. 2.
Expanding model of telemedicine care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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