Participant Characteristics and Attendance Patterns for a Multispecialty Veterans Affairs ECHO Program 2012-2018.

Introduction: The Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) 20 Veterans Affairs-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (VA-ECHO) program connects specialty and primary care providers (PCPs) across large geographic areas, utilizing video-teleconferencing with the intention of increasing access to care among underserved and isolated populations. No previously published work describes participation patterns of a multispecialty ECHO program. We describe the development of VISN 20 VA-ECHO program to inform the design and evaluation of ECHO programs. Methods: The participant cohort included VA-affiliated licensed health care professionals, including trainees, who attended at least one VISN 20 VA-ECHO session between April 2012 and December 2018. Participant characteristics reported include gender, clinical location, clinical specialty, discipline, and rurality. Results: Over the 6-year time frame, VISN 20 VA-ECHO offered 945 sessions in 14 clinical specialties and recorded 17,893 hours of attendance. The cohort included 1,346 participants, 74.3% of whom were female, 85.2% employed in medical centers, and 40.7% affiliated with primary care. Most participants (62.3%) attended one specialty exclusively; among all participants, 40% attended five or more sessions. Discussion: Although VA-ECHO was implemented to develop single specialty expertise among PCPs, our participant cohort represented a more diverse audience from a range of disciplines and specialties. Our experience may be valuable to other teams implementing ECHO programs. Conclusions: Through adaptability and strategies that actively promoted inclusion of a diverse audience, VISN 20 VA-ECHO expanded to include multiple clinical specialties and successfully engaged an audience across a large geographic area and beyond PCPs.

Primary Care Team Members Report Greater Individual Benefits from Long- Versus Short-Term Specialty Telemedicine Mentorship.

BACKGROUND: Primary care providers who participate in structured specialty telemedicine mentorship report improvements in clinical content mastery, professional satisfaction, and specialist communication. INTRODUCTION: Although these programs require investments of infrastructure resources and time, the duration of participation required to accrue optimal benefits is not known. We aimed to assess whether duration of participation is related to improved benefits of a longitudinal telemedicine-based mentorship program, specifically regarding perceived specialty care access, acquisition of new knowledge and skills, team integration, and overall job satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted an e-mail survey of Veterans Affairs-based primary care team members in the United States' Pacific Northwest region who engaged in a longitudinal telemedicine mentorship program (n = 78). RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounding factors, respondents who engaged in telemedicine mentorship for ≥1 year were significantly more likely to strongly agree that telemedicine mentorship improved patient access to specialty care (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 9.3, p < 0.005) and was useful in treating other patients on their panels (AOR = 3.7, p = 0.04). Participation ≥1 year was also associated with higher self-reported knowledge and competencies (AOR = 4.0, p = 0.03) and with perception of integration into a clinical team (AOR = 5.6, p = 0.01), but not with overall job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Telemedicine-based specialty mentorship programs are highly valued by primary care-based participants, and self-reported benefits accumulate beyond 1 year of participation.

Utilizing the RE-AIM framework for a multispecialty Veterans Affairs Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (VA-ECHO) program 2018-2022.

VA-ECHO (Veterans Affairs -Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) provides live, synchronous, continuing education accredited, case-based learning. Sessions deliver up-to-date, evidence-based, practice-relevant, Veteran-focused learning to healthcare team members. The primary goal of VA-ECHO is to increase Veterans' access to high quality care by improving knowledge and skills among VA care providers. Utilizing the RE-AIM framework, descriptive statistics for 23 VA-ECHO programs regarding program effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance during a five-year period (2018-2022) are reported. VA-ECHO offered 1,462 sessions and 157,238 contact hours, engaging 17,642 participants from 837 VA-based sites (20% rural-based sites). Effectiveness includes information on number and diversity of programs, as well as reported impact on participants' practice. Adoption includes descriptive statistics, including comparison of growth and change compared to prior years. Implementation describes change in the program over time, including the number of specialties offered, and types of continuing education offered. Maintenance includes a narrative regarding sustainability. The discussion focuses on implementation and maintenance strategies the program has used to address participant and VA needs within the RE-AIM framework, including adjustments to the program, iterative qualitative improvement, sustainment strategies, and opportunities for future evaluation.

Impact of Sleep Telementorship in Primary Care: Sleep VA-ECHO (Veterans Affairs-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes).

Sleep VA-ECHO (Veterans Affairs-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a national telementorship program intended to improve knowledge about sleep disorders among non-specialty providers. The project goal was to describe the characteristics of Sleep VA-ECHO participants from primary care and their use of program-obtained knowledge in practice. Sleep VA-ECHO consisted of 10 voluntary, 75-min teleconference sessions combining didactics and case discussion. Out of 86 participants, 21 self-identified as primary care team members and completed a program evaluation. Participants self-reported their application of knowledge gained, including changes to practice as a result of program participation. These 21 participants represented 18 sites in 11 states and attended a median of 5.0 sessions. They included physicians (29%), nurse practitioners (24%), and registered nurses (24%). Nearly all participants (95%) reported using acquired knowledge to care for their own patients at least once a month; 67% shared knowledge with colleagues at least once a month. Eighty-five percent reported improved quality of sleep care for their patients, and 76% reported an expanded clinical skillset. The greatest self-reported change in practice occurred in patient education about sleep disorders (95%) and non-pharmacologic management of insomnia (81%).

Complications of Peripheral Venous Access Devices: Prevention, Detection, and Recovery Strategies.

Most hospitalized patients have placement of a peripheral venous access device, either a short peripheral catheter or a peripherally inserted central catheter. Compared with central venous catheters that are not peripherally inserted, the other 2 types are generally perceived by health care providers as safer and less complicated to manage, and less emphasis is placed on the prevention and management of complications. Expertise of nurses in inserting, managing, and removing these devices may reduce the likelihood of complications, and increased recognition of complications associated with use of the devices is important to ensure continued improvements in the safety, quality, and efficiency of health care. Complications associated with short peripheral catheters and peripherally inserted central catheters include tourniquet retention, tubing and catheter misconnections, phlebitis, air embolism, device fragment embolization, and inadvertent discharge with a retained peripheral venous access device. Integration of prevention, detection, and recovery strategies into personal nursing practice promotes the quality and safety of health care delivery.

Veteran Preferences Regarding Wireless Management of Positive Airway Pressure for Obstructive Sleep Apnea at a Tertiary Health-Care System.

BACKGROUND: Timely monitoring of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) therapy can be a challenge amid conflicting pressures of rising patient volume and shortage of sleep medicine providers. Positive airway pressure (PAP) devices with wireless modem technology have the potential to improve patient access to care and streamline work load, yet little is known about patient attitudes toward telehealth integration among veterans with sleep apnea. As part of a larger quality improvement initiative at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System, we elicited veterans' preferences toward modem versus traditional PAP data download, including patient attitudes and factors affecting those preferences. METHODS: We conducted an anonymous survey of veterans without previous CPAP experience presenting for initial device setup and training at VA Puget Sound PAP clinics. Surveys assessed subject demographics, PAP download preferences (modem vs mail), and Likert-type scale ratings of importance placed on factors including convenience and information privacy. Using multinomial logistic regression, we examined the association between convenience rating and download preference, adjusting for information privacy rating, age, and commute time. RESULTS: Of 444 surveys analyzed, respondents were primarily male with a mean age of 52 y. Most respondents reported taking ≥ 30 min to commute to the PAP clinic. Convenience was rated as the most important factor affecting download preferences. Veteran preferences regarding PAP download method were mixed, with 47% preferring modem, 38% preferring memory card mail-in, and 15% undecided. A higher rating of convenience was significantly associated with modem preference, both before and after adjustment for information privacy rating, commute time, and veteran age (adjusted relative risk ratio 1.67, P < .001, 95% CI 1.40-1.99). CONCLUSIONS: PAP data download preferences were mixed among new veteran users. Veterans placed a high value on the potentially competing concerns of convenience and information privacy. Veterans preferring modem factored convenience as important in their decision making, independent of privacy concerns.

Development of a Sleep Telementorship Program for Rural Department of Veterans Affairs Primary Care Providers: Sleep Veterans Affairs Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes.

RATIONALE: Primary care providers (PCPs) frequently encounter sleep complaints, especially in regions with limited specialty care access. OBJECTIVES: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (VA-ECHO) program (based on Project ECHO) has successfully provided rural PCP education in subspecialty areas, including hepatitis C. We describe the feasibility of an ECHO program for sleep medicine. METHODS: ECHO creates a virtual learning community through video-teleconferencing, combining didactics with individualized clinical case review. We invited multidisciplinary providers to attend up to 10 stand-alone, 1-hour sessions. Invitees completed a needs assessment, which guided curriculum development. After program completion, we examined participant characteristics and self-reported changes in practice and comfort with managing sleep complaints. We surveyed participation barriers among invitees with low/no attendance. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 39 program participants, 38% worked in rural healthcare. Participants included nurse practitioners (26%), registered nurses (21%), and physicians (15%). Seventeen (44%) completed the summative program evaluation. Respondents anticipated practice change from the program, especially in patient education about sleep disorders (93% of respondents). Respondents reported improved comfort managing sleep complaints, especially sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, and sleep in post-traumatic stress disorder (80% of respondents each). A follow-up survey of program invitees who attended zero to two sessions reported scheduling conflicts (62%) and lack of protected time (52%) as major participation barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in a pilot sleep medicine VA-ECHO program report practice change and increased comfort managing common sleep complaints. Future work is needed to identify objective measures of return on investment and address participation barriers.