Abigail Schubach, MD, MS, Smith Agyingi, MD, Krystle Bittner, MPH, Shivangi Kothari, MD, Maisa Abdalla, MD, MPH University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Introduction: An aftereffect of the COVID-19 pandemic is the increased utilization of telehealth medicine (THM) to maintain accessibility to clinical care. For patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), disease control depends heavily on close follow-up to monitor adherence and response to their treatment plan. THM can engage patients facing barriers to in-person clinic visits; however, it can also have a negative impact on routine care due to the lack of physical assessment and the increase in potential miscommunication. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of THM on subsequent completion of tests and clinical follow-up among patients seen in the IBD clinic.
Methods: This study was an IRB-approved retrospective chart review of all adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD seen in the outpatient clinic at the University of Rochester Medical Center from April 2020 and December 2021. Data pertaining to patient demographics, disease characteristics, clinic visit details and follow-up were collected. Descriptive analyses and comparison of means were performed by SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corp.; Armonk, NY).
Results: A total of 92 clinic visits were eligible for inclusion, of which 37 were performed in-person and 55 completed via THM (either telephone or video format). The majority of THM visits were conducted via telephone (94.5%; n = 52/55). Of all scheduled visits, only three were incomplete due to patient no-show (n = 2 THM; n = 1 in-person). Patient age, sex and IBD subtypes were similar between patients presenting for in-person clinic or THM (Table 1). Additional visit parameters are summarized in Table 2. The only significant differences between the groups were (1) in the number of orders for imaging placed (n = 12/36, 33.3% vs. 3/52, 5.8%; p = 0.001) and (2) in the higher proportion of patients with a recent hospitalization since their prior visit and/or referral (n = 7/35, 20.0% vs. n = 2/54, 3.7%; p = 0.026) for those completing their visit in-person vs. THM, respectively. Compliance to recommended tests and completion of clinic follow up was similar between the two groups.
Discussion: Our single-center retrospective review demonstrated no significant differences in patient adherence to recommended tests and clinical follow up when visits were completed via THM. This suggests offering THM to our IBD patients may be a sustainable solution for those that need flexible options to maintain consistent accessibility to routine clinical care.
Disclosures:
Abigail Schubach indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Smith Agyingi indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Krystle Bittner indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Maisa Abdalla indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Abigail Schubach, MD, MS, Smith Agyingi, MD, Krystle Bittner, MPH, Shivangi Kothari, MD, Maisa Abdalla, MD, MPH. P2228 - Telemedicine Is Here to Stay: The Impact of Telehealth on Adherence to Treatment Plan Among Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Vancouver, BC, Canada: American College of Gastroenterology.
