Smartphone-based videoconference visits are easy to implement, effective, and feasible in Crohn's disease patients: a prospective cohort study

Authors : Hasan Yilmaz, Ali Erkan Duman

Pages : 451-456

Doi:10.32322/jhsm.1040280

View : 17 | Download : 8

Publication Date : 2022-03-15

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Aim: Crohn's disease patients require life-long follow-up resulting in frequent hospital visits. The benefits of telehealth have been established in the remote management of Crohn’s disease but the role of mobile technology is missing. Our goal was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of smartphone-based real-time video visits. Material and Method: We followed 139 patients with either traditional (FTF) or online clinics (OLV) at a university hospital between May 2020- December 2020. We measured patients' satisfaction, disease activity, visit outcomes, socioeconomic parameters, and travel expenses to assess the effectiveness and acceptance of OLV. Results: Satisfaction scores were significantly higher at OLV compared to FTF (89.58±9.93 vs 70.85±18.51, p<0.001). The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the VSQ9 scale was 0.878. A median of 47 km travel distance with a median travel time of 49 minutes per visit were saved with OLV. In terms of travel costs there was a potential saving of an average of US$12.24 per appointment. Eighty-five percent of the patients were successfully managed with online visits and did not require face-to-face visit. Conclusion: There was a high level of acceptance for Smartphone-based real-time video visits in the distant management of Crohn’s disease. The telehealth model was easy to implement, effective, with significant savings in travel costs and time.
Keywords : Crohn, Telehealth, COVID-19, Cost of care