Serving Los Angeles County Patients with Teleneurology, A Clinical Tool Here to Stay
Neurology
; 98(18 SUPPL), 2022.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-1925350
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To demonstrate the benefits of teleneurology visits for a vulnerable epilepsy population served at the epilepsy clinic in Los Angeles County Medical Center servicing the greater Los Angeles metropolitan areaBackground:
We are a large safety-net hospital in Los Angeles county, providing Level 4 epilepsy care to patients who are uninsured/under-insured. Most are drug-resistant and have physical, social, and/or economic factors that limit their ability to receive healthcare, including epilepsy care. One main factor is that none can drive, and many have difficulties arriving to their in-person appointments due to limited transportation means (i.e. walking, public transportation). The current COVID-19 pandemic further limits their access to healthcare with reduced public services. However, the recent expanded access to teleneurology has been a significant change for this population by improving their access to healthcare and follow up. Regular follow up infers improved compliance leading to better quality of care. We readily and aggressively implemented teleneurology services for our patients. Teleneurology appointments (including phone and video) for our patients began March 20, 2020 with all appointments prior to this date being in-person appointments only. Design/Methods:
We compared the rates of no-show appointments 12 months before (no teleneurology) and 12 months after (with teleneurology) March 20, 2020 by assessing significance using a z-test.Results:
The rate of no-show appointments significantly falls from 33.7% (of 1711 patients) before to 15.3% (of 1684 patients) after the implementation of teleneurology (p<0.05).Conclusions:
Teleneurology is a critical and effective clinical tool for improving patient compliance with clinic visits and continuing therapy. Teleneurology ensures justice in distribution of medical care even for an underserved population of patients with epilepsy in Los Angeles County.
adult; California; conference abstract; controlled study; coronavirus disease 2019; drug safety; economic aspect; epilepsy; epileptic patient; female; follow up; human; justice; major clinical study; male; medical care; medically uninsured; pandemic; safety net hospital; teleneurology; videorecording; walking
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Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Neurology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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