Telemedicine delivered over 1 year to patients with severe migraine-related disability was comparable to in-office visits for improving migraine disability, number of headache days, and average headache severity at 12 months.
Compared with rural counties with high broadband availability, rural counties with low broadband availability had 34% fewer telemedicine visits per capita.
Online symptom self-management plus clinician telecare can be effective for individuals with pain, depression, and anxiety.
Long-term follow-up care for the management of migraine with severe disability using telemedicine was found to have comparable efficacy compared to in-office visits.
Broadband penetration rates are considerably lower in the most rural counties, especially where access to primary care physicians and psychiatrists is inadequate.
Kaiser-Permanente Northern California recently integrated video telemedicine functionality into their healthcare delivery system.
Only 15.4 percent of physicians work in practices that use telemedicine for a wide spectrum of patient interactions, with larger practice size being an important correlate of telemedicine use.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and supportive care psychotherapy, both delivered by nurses over the telephone, may offer comparable benefits for the management of chronic back pain.
With the rapid rise in technologic advances and the increase in medical specialties in the last half-century, the creation of a new specialty — the medical virtualist — could be an effective response to new care challenges.
Economic disparities and shortages of healthcare professionals worldwide have been implicated as key contributors to inadequate global healthcare access, particularly among individuals living in rural, low-income areas.
