Telehealth Policy, Practice, and Education: a Position Statement of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

Telehealth services, specifically telemedicine audio-video and audio-only patient encounters, expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic through temporary waivers and flexibilities tied to the public health emergency. Early studies demonstrate significant potential to advance the quintuple aim (patient experience, health outcomes, cost, clinician well-being, and equity). Supported well, telemedicine can particularly improve patient satisfaction, health outcomes, and equity. Implemented poorly, telemedicine can facilitate unsafe care, worsen disparities, and waste resources. Without further action from lawmakers and agencies, payment will end for many telemedicine services currently used by millions of Americans at the end of 2024. Policymakers, health systems, clinicians, and educators must decide how to support, implement, and sustain telemedicine, and long-term studies and clinical practice guidelines are emerging to provide direction. In this position statement, we use clinical vignettes to review relevant literature and highlight where key actions are needed. These include areas where telemedicine must be expanded (e.g., to support chronic disease management) and where guidelines are needed (e.g., to prevent inequitable offering of telemedicine services and prevent unsafe or low-value care). We provide policy, clinical practice, and education recommendations for telemedicine on behalf of the Society of General Internal Medicine. Policy recommendations include ending geographic and site restrictions, expanding the definition of telemedicine to include audio-only services, establishing appropriate telemedicine service codes, and expanding broadband access to all Americans. Clinical practice recommendations include ensuring appropriate telemedicine use (for limited acute care situations or in conjunction with in-person services to extend longitudinal care relationships), that the choice of modality be done through patient-clinician shared decision-making, and that health systems design telemedicine services through community partnerships to ensure equitable implementation. Education recommendations include developing telemedicine-specific educational strategies for trainees that align with accreditation body competencies and providing educators with protected time and faculty development resources.

A Systematic Review of Physical Examination Components Adapted for Telemedicine.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a rapid, transformative adoption of telemedicine to maintain patient access to care. As clinicians made the shift from in-person to virtual practice, they faced a paucity of established and reliable clinical examination standards for virtual care settings. In this systematic review, we summarize the accuracy and reliability of virtual assessments compared with traditional in-person examination tools. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL from inception through September 2019 and included additional studies from handsearching of reference lists. We included studies that compared synchronous video (except allowing for audio-only modality for cardiopulmonary exams) with in-person clinical assessments of patients in various settings. We excluded behavioral health and dermatological assessments. Two investigators abstracted data using a predefined protocol. Results: A total of 64 studies were included and categorized into 5 clinical domains: neurological (N = 41), HEENT (head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat; N = 5), cardiopulmonary (N = 5), musculoskeletal (N = 8), and assessment of critically ill patients (N = 5). The cognitive assessment within the neurological exam was by far the most studied (N = 19) with the Mini-Mental Status Exam found to be highly reliable in multiple settings. Most studies showed relatively good reliability of the virtual assessment, although sample sizes were often small (<50 participants). Conclusions: Overall, virtual assessments performed similarly to in-person exam components for diagnostic accuracy but had a wide range of interrater reliability. The high heterogeneity in population, setting, and outcomes reported across studies render it difficult to draw broad conclusions on the most effective exam components to adopt into clinical practice. Further work is needed to identify virtual exam components that improve diagnostic accuracy.

Implementation Strategies for Frontline Healthcare Professionals: People, Process Mapping, and Problem Solving.

Implementation science is focused on developing and evaluating methods to reduce gaps between research and practice. As healthcare organizations become increasingly accountable for equity, quality, and value, attention has been directed to identifying specific implementation strategies that can accelerate the adoption of evidence-based therapies into clinical practice. In this perspective, we offer three simple, practical strategies that can be used by frontline healthcare providers who are involved in on-the-ground implementation: people (stakeholder) engagement, process mapping, and problem solving. As a use case example, we describe the iterative application of these strategies to the implementation of a new home sleep apnea testing program for patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) healthcare system.

Impact of Longitudinal Virtual Primary Care on Diabetes Quality of Care.

BACKGROUND: Lack of healthcare access to due to physician shortages is a significant driver of telemedicine expansion in rural areas. Telemedicine is effective for management of chronic conditions such as diabetes but its effectiveness in primary care settings is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate differences in diabetes care before and after implementation of a longitudinal virtual primary care program. DESIGN: Propensity score-matched cohort study utilizing difference-in-differences analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with diabetes who received care at VA primary care clinics between January 2018 and December 2019 where the Virtual Integrated Multisite Patient Aligned Care Teams (V-IMPACT) program was implemented. EXPOSURE: Patient participation in at least one V-IMPACT visit while usual care patients did not participate in V-IMPACT. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was change in hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and secondary outcomes included change in the proportion of patients meeting diabetes quality indicators: blood pressure control, statin use, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ACEi/ARB) use, and annual microalbuminuria testing. KEY RESULTS: Our propensity-matched cohort included 9010 patients split evenly between those who participated in V-IMPACT and those who remained in usual in-person care. Among individuals with diabetes who participated in V-IMPACT, the change in mean HbA1C was - 0.055% (95% CI - 0.088 to - 0.022%) while those in usual care had a - 0.047% (95% CI - 0.080 to - 0.014%) change before and after program implementation. We observed a 5.1% (95% CI 2.4 to 7.7%) absolute increase in the proportion prescribed statins in the V-IMPACT group, a 5.3% (95% CI 2.5 to 8.2%) increase prescribed ACE/ARBs, and a 4.6% (95% 1.7 to 7.5%) increase in completed yearly microalbuminuria testing. V-IMPACT was not associated with a significant difference in the proportion with controlled blood pressure at < 140/90 or < 130/90 mmHg thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of diabetes care delivered by a longitudinal virtual primary care model was similar if not better than traditional in-person care.

Preserving the organ donor pool and suprahepatic vena cava: Case series of transverse hepatectomy for polycystic liver disease.

Management of symptomatic polycystic liver disease (PLD) has remained primarily unchanged since the early 20th century when multiple case reports described management of non-parasitic liver cysts. In 1968, Lin et al. described the fenestration procedure, "aspiration of the cysts, incision, partial excision with or without external drainage, or marsupilization and anastomosis to the gastrointestinal tract". Further surgical options have included cyst sclerotherapy, laparoscopic cyst aspiration, partial hepatectomy, and orthotopic liver transplant (OLT). Recently there has been discussion of medical management with somatostatin analogs to reduce hepatomegaly in PLD with varying success. There is no current consensus on treatment or standard of care for symptomatic PLD, it is largely up to surgeon preference and ability; however, there has been a movement toward early OLT with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score exception points. This case series reviews two female patients with normal renal and hepatic function with symptomatic PLD treated with transverse hepatectomy. We propose that patients suffering from symptomatic PLD, with retained renal and hepatic function, can be treated with transverse hepatectomy conserving limited donor livers for decompensated patients; moreover, transverse hepatectomy does not disrupt the major suprahepatic vena cava preserving potential surgical access for future OLT.

Understanding the near-peer relationship: resident perspectives around a novel on-call workplace-based assessment.

Background: Workplace-based assessment (WBA) is a critical component of competency-based medical education (CBME), though literature on WBA for overnight call is limited. We evaluated a WBA tool completed by supervising subspecialty trainees on paediatric residents during subspecialty overnight call, for usefulness facilitating feedback/coaching in this setting. Methods: Web-based surveys were sent to residents pre- and post-WBA tool implementation monthly for four months (August-December 2018), exploring feedback frequency, Likert-scaled opinions of tool feasibility/usefulness facilitating feedback, and qualitative experiences. Assessor comments were categorized as actionable/non-actionable. Quantitative data was summarized using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was coded to identify themes. Results: Total response rates averaged 41% (total 25 responses, average five respondents/12 residents on-call each month). Post-implementation (n = 16 responses), a non-sustained trend of increased Medical Expert feedback was observed. Residents were generally divided or disagreed on tool usefulness facilitating feedback and feasibility. Comments contained actionable feedback in < 10% of completed WBAs. Qualitative analysis revealed barriers to tool-facilitated coaching including: feedback quality and setting/environment, role of senior near-peer as assessor, interpersonal burden in encounters, and tool-specific issues. Conclusions: Increasing frequency of WBA tool completion is not sufficient to achieve CBME goals. Factors impacting feedback/coaching within the resident/near-peer dyad must be addressed.

Contexte: Tandis que l'évaluation en milieu de travail (EMT) est une composante essentielle de l'éducation médicale fondée sur les compétences (EMFC), il y a peu de recherches sur l'EMT en contexte de garde de nuit. Nous avons étudié un formulaire d'évaluation en milieu de travail rempli par des résidents en surspécialité supervisant des résidents en pédiatrie pendant la garde de nuit en surspécialité, afin de déterminer s'il facilite la rétroaction avec coaching dans ce contexte. Méthodes: Des questionnaires en ligne ont été envoyés aux résidents avant la mise en œuvre de l'outil d'EMT et à partir de celle-ci, tous les mois pendant quatre mois (d'août à décembre 2018). Ils exploraient la fréquence des rétroactions, les opinions des participants, exprimées sur une échelle de Likert, sur le caractère pratique et l'utilité de l'outil comme facilitateur de la rétroaction et leurs expériences qualitatives. Les commentaires des évaluateurs ont été catégorisés comme étant exploitables ou non exploitables. Les données quantitatives ont été résumées à l'aide de statistiques descriptives. Les données qualitatives ont été codées pour identifier les thèmes. Résultats: Le taux de réponse total était en moyenne de 41 % (total de 25 réponses, moyenne de 5 répondants/12 résidents de garde chaque mois). Après l'introduction de l'outil (n = 16 réponses), une tendance non soutenue à l'augmentation des commentaires des experts médicaux a été observée. Les résidents étaient généralement partagés ou en désaccord quant au caractère pratique de l'outil et à sa capacité à faciliter la rétroaction. Les commentaires contenaient des informations exploitables dans moins de 10 % des EMT remplies. L'analyse qualitative a révélé les obstacles suivants au fonctionnement de l'outil comme facilitateur du coaching : la qualité des commentaires et l'environnement, le rôle du presque pair senior en tant qu'évaluateur, la tension lors des rencontres de coaching et les problèmes spécifiques à l'outil. Conclusion: Pour atteindre les objectifs de l'EMFC, il ne suffit pas de remplir plus souvent l'outil d'EMT. Les facteurs qui influencent la rétroaction avec coaching au sein de la dyade résident-presque pair doivent également être pris en compte.

Impact of Portable Normothermic Blood-Based Machine Perfusion on Outcomes of Liver Transplant: The OCS Liver PROTECT Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Ischemic cold storage (ICS) of livers for transplant is associated with serious posttransplant complications and underuse of liver allografts. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether portable normothermic machine perfusion preservation of livers obtained from deceased donors using the Organ Care System (OCS) Liver ameliorates early allograft dysfunction (EAD) and ischemic biliary complications (IBCs). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter randomized clinical trial (International Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Portable Organ Care System Liver for Preserving and Assessing Donor Livers for Transplantation) was conducted between November 2016 and October 2019 at 20 US liver transplant programs. The trial compared outcomes for 300 recipients of livers preserved using either OCS (n = 153) or ICS (n = 147). Participants were actively listed for liver transplant on the United Network of Organ Sharing national waiting list. INTERVENTIONS: Transplants were performed for recipients randomly assigned to receive donor livers preserved by either conventional ICS or the OCS Liver initiated at the donor hospital. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary effectiveness end point was incidence of EAD. Secondary end points included OCS Liver ex vivo assessment capability of donor allografts, extent of reperfusion syndrome, incidence of IBC at 6 and 12 months, and overall recipient survival after transplant. The primary safety end point was the number of liver graft-related severe adverse events within 30 days after transplant. RESULTS: Of 293 patients in the per-protocol population, the primary analysis population for effectiveness, 151 were in the OCS Liver group (mean [SD] age, 57.1 [10.3] years; 102 [67%] men), and 142 were in the ICS group (mean SD age, 58.6 [10.0] years; 100 [68%] men). The primary effectiveness end point was met by a significant decrease in EAD (27 of 150 [18%] vs 44 of 141 [31%]; P = .01). The OCS Liver preserved livers had significant reduction in histopathologic evidence of ischemia-reperfusion injury after reperfusion (eg, less moderate to severe lobular inflammation: 9 of 150 [6%] for OCS Liver vs 18 of 141 [13%] for ICS; P = .004). The OCS Liver resulted in significantly higher use of livers from donors after cardiac death (28 of 55 [51%] for the OCS Liver vs 13 of 51 [26%] for ICS; P = .007). The OCS Liver was also associated with significant reduction in incidence of IBC 6 months (1.3% vs 8.5%; P = .02) and 12 months (2.6% vs 9.9%; P = .02) after transplant. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This multicenter randomized clinical trial provides the first indication, to our knowledge, that normothermic machine perfusion preservation of deceased donor livers reduces both posttransplant EAD and IBC. Use of the OCS Liver also resulted in increased use of livers from donors after cardiac death. Together these findings indicate that OCS Liver preservation is associated with superior posttransplant outcomes and increased donor liver use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02522871.

Medical Financial Hardship in Survivors of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Cancer and its treatment can result in lifelong medical financial hardship, which we aimed to describe among adult survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancers in the United States. METHODS: We identified adult (aged ≥18 years) survivors of AYA cancers (diagnosed ages 15-39 years) and adults without a cancer history from the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys. Proportions of respondents reporting measures in different hardship domains (material [eg, problems paying bills], psychological [eg, distress], and behavioral [eg, forgoing care due to cost]) were compared between groups using multivariable logistic regression models and hardship intensity (cooccurrence of hardship domains) using ordinal logistic regression. Cost-related changes in prescription medication use were assessed separately. RESULTS: A total of 2588 AYA cancer survivors (median = 31 [interquartile range = 26-35] years at diagnosis; 75.0% more than 6 years and 50.0% more than 16 years since diagnosis) and 256 964 adults without a cancer history were identified. Survivors were more likely to report at least 1 hardship measure in material (36.7% vs 27.7%, P < .001) and behavioral (28.4% vs 21.2%, P < .001) domains, hardship in all 3 domains (13.1% vs 8.7%, P < .001), and at least 1 cost-related prescription medication nonadherence (13.7% vs 10.3%, P = .001) behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Adult survivors of AYA cancers are more likely to experience medical financial hardship across multiple domains compared with adults without a cancer history. Health-care providers must recognize this inequity and its impact on survivors' health, and multifaceted interventions are necessary to address underlying causes.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Cancer Survival in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Non-white patients with childhood cancer have worse survival than Non-Hispanic (NH) White patients for many childhood cancers in the United States. We examined the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) and health insurance on racial/ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival. METHODS: We used the National Cancer Database to identify NH White, NH Black, Hispanic, and children of other race/ethnicities (<18 years) diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2015. SES was measured by the area-level social deprivation index (SDI) at patient residence and categorized into tertiles. Health insurance coverage at diagnosis was categorized as private, Medicaid, and uninsured. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare survival by race/ethnicity. We examined the contribution of health insurance and SES by sequentially adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics (age group, sex, region, metropolitan statistical area, year of diagnosis, and number of conditions other than cancer), health insurance, and SDI. RESULTS: Compared with NH Whites, NH Blacks and Hispanics had worse survival for all cancers combined, leukemias and lymphomas, brain tumors, and solid tumors (all P < 0.05). Survival differences were attenuated after adjusting for health insurance and SDI separately; and further attenuated after adjusting for insurance and SDI together. CONCLUSIONS: Both SES and health insurance contributed to racial/ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival. IMPACT: Improving health insurance coverage and access to care for children, especially those with low SES, may mitigate racial/ethnic survival disparities.

Feasibility of a Telemedicine Urgent Care Program to Address Patient Complaints on First Contact.

Many health systems employ nurse telephone advice services to facilitate remote triage of patients to appropriate level of care. However, the effectiveness of these programs to reduce ED and subsequent health care utilization remains to be demonstrated. We describe a novel virtual urgent care program implemented within a Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system that interfaces with a nurse telephone advice line and leverages telemedicine tools to rapidly address and resolve nonemergent conditions. During a 4-month pilot period, 104 unique patients received care through the program, and over 85% of patients achieved timely resolution for their urgent complaints on first contact with the health care system. Demonstrating feasibility for such a program has potential implications for the optimization of remote triage and urgent care services to improve health care utilization and outcomes.

Case Series of 10 Patients with Cirrhosis Undergoing Emergent Repair of Ruptured Umbilical Hernias: Natural History and Predictors of Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Ascites represents an important event in the natural history of cirrhosis, portending increased 1-year mortality. Umbilical herniation with rupture is an uncommon complication of large-volume ascites that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe predictors of outcomes in patients undergoing emergent repair for spontaneous umbilical hernia rupture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We report a case series of 10 patients with decompensated cirrhosis (mean age 66 ± 9 years, mean Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score of 21 ± 7) who presented with a ruptured umbilical hernia and had emergent repair. RESULTS: Thirty percent (3/10) of patients died or required liver transplant. Factors associated with death or transplant included the development of bacterial peritonitis (P = .03) and the presurgical 30-day Mayo Clinic Postoperative Mortality Risk in Patient with Cirrhosis Score (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Emergent repair after umbilical hernia rupture in patients with decompensated cirrhosis carries a poor prognosis with 30% of patients developing poor postsurgical outcomes.

Unilateral pulmonary edema after laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: report of two cases.

Unilateral pulmonary edema of the dependent lung presented after laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy in two patients. Treatment with O(2) supplementation and diuretics resulted in relief of symptoms and radiographic improvement. The presumed causes of this previously unreported complication of laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy include prolonged lateral decubitus positioning and high fluid requirements.

Adverse Effect of Post-Discharge Care Fragmentation on Outcomes after Readmissions after Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Post-discharge surgical care fragmentation is defined as readmission to any hospital other than the hospital at which surgery was performed. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of fragmented readmissions within the first year after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). STUDY DESIGN: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases for Florida and California from 2006 to 2011 were used to identify OLT patients. Post-discharge fragmentation was defined as any readmission to a non-index hospital, including readmitted patients transferred to the index hospital after 24 hours. Outcomes included adverse events, defined as 30-day mortality and 30-day readmission after a fragmented readmission. All statistical analyses considered a hierarchical data structure and were performed with multilevel, mixed-effects models. RESULTS: We analyzed 2,996 patients with 7,485 readmission encounters at 299 hospitals; 1,236 (16.5%) readmissions were fragmented. After adjustment for age, sex, readmission reason, index liver transplantation cost, readmission length of stay, number of previous readmissions, and time from transplantation, post-discharge fragmentation increased the odds of both 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75; 95% CI 1.16 to 2.65) and 30-day readmission (OR = 2.14; 95% CI 1.83 to 2.49). Predictors of adverse events after a fragmented readmission included increased number of previous readmissions (OR = 1.07; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14) and readmission within 90 days of OLT (OR = 2.19; 95% CI 1.61 to 2.98). CONCLUSIONS: Post-discharge fragmentation significantly increases the risk of both 30-day mortality and subsequent readmission after a readmission in the first year after OLT. More inpatient visits before a readmission and less time elapsed from index surgery increase the odds of an adverse event after discharge from a fragmented readmission. These parameters could guide transfer decisions for patients with post-discharge fragmentation.

Inpatient Rehabilitation after Liver Transplantation Decreases Risk and Severity of 30-Day Readmissions.

BACKGROUND: Discharge location is associated with short-term readmission rates after hospitalization for several medical and surgical diagnoses. We hypothesized that discharge location: home, home health, skilled nursing facility (SNF), long-term acute care (LTAC), or inpatient rehabilitation, independently predicted the risk of 30-day readmission and severity of first readmission after orthotopic liver transplantation. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective cohort review using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases for Florida and California. Patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation from 2009 to 2011 were included and followed for 1 year. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to model the effect of discharge location on 30-day readmission controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors. Total cost of first readmission was used as a surrogate measure for readmission severity and resource use. RESULTS: A total of 3,072 patients met our inclusion criteria. The overall 30-day readmission rate was 29.6%. Discharge to inpatient rehabilitation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.43, p = 0.013) or LTAC/SNF (aOR 0.63, p = 0.014) were associated with decreased odds of 30-day readmission when compared with home. The severity of 30-day readmissions for patients discharged to inpatient rehabilitation were the same as those discharged home or home with home health. Severity was increased for those discharged to LTAC/SNF. The time to first readmission was longest for patients discharged to inpatient rehabilitation (17 days vs 8 days, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: When compared with other locations of discharge, inpatient rehabilitation reduces the risk of 30-day readmission and increases the time to first readmission. These benefits come without increasing the severity of readmission. Increased use of inpatient rehabilitation after orthotopic liver transplantation is a strategy to improve 30-day readmission rates.

Nonischemic cardiomyopathy after orthotopic liver transplantation: a report of three cases and a review of the literature.

In 2002 there were more than 5,000 liver transplantations performed in the United States. As of February 2004 there were more than 17,000 registrations for liver transplantation. As more organs are transplanted and surgical techniques improve, unique causes of morbidity and mortality will become apparent. We describe three cases of postoperative nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy in patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), one of whom underwent diagnostic myocardial biopsy. This paper will discuss the three patients, including biopsy results, and briefly review the relevant literature.