Clinical trial NCT02545998: Conducting Annual Asthma Reviews Using Telehealthcare: Comparison With Standard Care (Face-to-face Consultations)
Official title: Conducting Annual Asthma Reviews Using Telehealthcare: Comparison With Standard Care (Face-to-face Consultations)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Asthma
Keywords: Telehealthcare
Lead sponsor: Imperial College London
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2015-09-10
Enrollment: 88
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The National Report of Asthma Deaths published in 2014 highlighted significant deficiencies in both primary and secondary care resulting in one of the highest mortality rates in Europe. A key recommendation in the report is the provision of an annual asthma review in primary care.

Telehealthcare is an alternative means of service delivery incorporating the use of telephone and e-mail consultations which may improve access and quality of patient care. There is scant data on the role of teleheathcare in asthma care.

This is a single-centre, primary care-based, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the use of telehealthcare to conduct the annual asthma review for adult patients with well-controlled asthma. This will be compared with standard care (face-to-face consultations).

Telehealthcare will consist of a telephone consultation followed by an e-mail with an attached personalised asthma action plan and a link to a video demonstrating inhaler technique.

Standard care will involve a face-to-face consultation in primary care. The two patient groups will be compared prospectively to determine whether there is a difference in the quality of care evaluated in terms of the patient experience/ satisfaction, health-related quality of life, asthma control and frequency of asthma exacerbations over a 6 month period after the asthma review.

The data will be presented in the form of frequency tables, bar charts and pie charts. Non-parametric tests will be applied to determine whether there is a significant difference in the quality of care received.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients aged 18 and over, registered at Balham Park Surgery
* Patients diagnosed with asthma (patients on the asthma register)
* Patients with well-controlled asthma (ACT score 20 and over; no out of hours/ A\&E attendances/ PO steroids/ hospital admissions since the last asthma review in primary care)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients aged less than 18
* Patients with poorly controlled asthma (ACT score 19 or less; out of hours/ A\&E attendance/ hospital admission/ PO steroids since last asthma review in primary care)
* Patients with a mental health diagnosis
* Patients without an up to date contact telephone number or with communication difficulties that would prevent or restrict their use of the technology.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Patient Experience: Overall Patient Experience Score (General Practice Assessment Questionnaire GPAQ Score)
timeFrame: Up to 2 weeks after the asthma review
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Dropout Rate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Average Consultation Length (Time)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Health Related Quality of Life Score (Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ))
timeFrame: Baseline and 6 months
measure: Asthma Control Test Score
timeFrame: 6 months after asthma review.
measure: Number of Exacerbations.
timeFrame: In the six months after the asthma review.
measure: Future Preference
timeFrame: Within 2 weeks of the asthma review.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: London
country: United Kingdom
facility: Balham Park Surgery
Study officials:
affiliation: Balham Park Surgery, Wandsworth CCG
name: Sarah Glynne, MRCP MRCGP
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: