Journal article
Building the Evidence Base for Tele-Emergency Care: Efforts to Identify a Standardized Set of Outcome Measures
Telemedicine journal and e-health, Vol.23(7), pp.561-566
07/01/2017
DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2016.0190
PMID: 28079461
Abstract
Background:
To enhance the quality of emergency department (ED) care, some rural hospitals have adopted the use of telemedicine (tele-ED). Without a common set of metrics, it is difficult to quantify the impact of this technology.
Introduction:
To address this limitation, the Health Resources and Services Administration funded the identification and testing of a core set of measures that could be used to build a business case for the value of tele-ED care.
Methods:
A comprehensive environmental scan was conducted to identify existing measures relevant to assessing ED care and the use of telemedicine. Identified measures were assessed against a set of criteria and pilot tested in rural hospitals.
Results:
The environmental scan identified numerous ED-specific measures and a limited set of telehealth-specific measures, but no clearly defined measures specific to tele-ED. Applying evaluation criteria to the measures revealed that few have a well-established evidence base, and fewer have undergone the rigorous testing needed to establish statistical reliability and validity. Nevertheless, a parsimonious set of measures was identified that met many of the evaluation criteria. Pilot testing indicated that collecting data using these measures was feasible.
Discussion:
For tele-ED benefits to be widely acknowledged, more research is required to demonstrate that care delivered using tele-ED care is as high quality, if not more so, than in-person care. This requires researchers to consistently use a set of clearly defined measures.
Conclusion:
The use of clearly defined and standardized measures will aid interpretation and permit replication in multiple studies, furthering acceptance of study findings.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Building the Evidence Base for Tele-Emergency Care: Efforts to Identify a Standardized Set of Outcome Measures
- Creators
- Yael Harris - 1Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaBoyd Gilman - 1Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaMarcia M Ward - 2College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaJonathan Ladinsky - 1Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaJacqueline Crowley - 1Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaCannon Warren - 1Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, District of ColumbiaCraig Caplan - 3Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Telemedicine journal and e-health, Vol.23(7), pp.561-566
- DOI
- 10.1089/tmj.2016.0190
- PMID
- 28079461
- NLM abbreviation
- Telemed J E Health
- ISSN
- 1530-5627
- eISSN
- 1556-3669
- Publisher
- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/01/2017
- Academic Unit
- Rural Telehealth Research Center; Health Management and Policy
- Record Identifier
- 9984214809802771
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