Journal of Clinical Medicine (Mar 2024)
A RAND/UCLA-Modified VAS Study on Telemedicine, Telehealth, and Virtual Care in Daily Clinical Practice of Vascular Medicine
- Sergio Pillon,
- Georgia Gomatou,
- Evangelos Dimakakos,
- Agata Stanek,
- Zsolt Pecsvarady,
- Matija Kozak,
- Jean-Claude Wautrecht,
- Katalin Farkas,
- Gerit-Holger Schernthaner,
- Mariella Catalano,
- Aleš Blinc,
- Grigorios Gerotziafas,
- Pavel Poredoš,
- Sergio De Marchi,
- Michael E. Gschwandtner,
- Endre Kolossváry,
- Muriel Sprynger,
- Bahar Fazeli,
- Aaron Liew,
- Peter Marschang,
- Andrzej Szuba,
- Dusan Suput,
- Michael Edmonds,
- Chris Manu,
- Christian Alexander Schaefer,
- George Marakomichelakis,
- Majda Vrkić Kirhmajer,
- Jonas Spaak,
- Elias Kotteas,
- Gianfranco Lessiani,
- Mary Paola Colgan,
- Marc Righini,
- Michael Lichtenberg,
- Oliver Schlager,
- Caitriona Canning,
- Antonella Marcoccia,
- Anastasios Kollias,
- Alberta Spreafico
Affiliations
- Sergio Pillon
- ASL Frosinone, 03100 Frosinone, Italy
- Georgia Gomatou
- Third Department of Medicine, Sotiria General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Evangelos Dimakakos
- Third Department of Medicine, Sotiria General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Agata Stanek
- Department and Clinic of Internal Medicine, Angiology and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland
- Zsolt Pecsvarady
- Second Department of Internal Medicine (Vascular Center), Flor Ferenc Teaching Hospital, 2143 Budapest, Hungary
- Matija Kozak
- Department of Vascular Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jean-Claude Wautrecht
- Department of Vascular Diseases, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
- Katalin Farkas
- Department of Angiology, Szent Imre University Teaching Hospital, Tétényi út 12-16, 1115 Budapest, Hungary
- Gerit-Holger Schernthaner
- Department of Medicine II, Division of Angiology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Mariella Catalano
- Department of Biomedical Science, Inter-University Research Center on Vascular Disease, L. Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Aleš Blinc
- Department of Vascular Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Grigorios Gerotziafas
- Sorbonne University, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unit 938, Research Group Cancer, Biology and Therapeutics, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine (CRSA), Institut Universitaire de Cancérologie, 75012 Paris, France
- Pavel Poredoš
- Department for Vascular Disease, University Clinical Center, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Sergio De Marchi
- Division of Angiology, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Michael E. Gschwandtner
- Department of Medical Angiology, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Endre Kolossváry
- Department of Angiology, St. Imre University Teaching Hospital, 1115 Budapest, Hungary
- Muriel Sprynger
- Cardiology Department, University Hospital Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
- Bahar Fazeli
- Immunology Research Center, Inflammation and Inflammatory Diseases Division, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9177948564, Iran
- Aaron Liew
- Portiuncula University Hospital, Soalta University Health Care Group, National University of Ireland Gaway (NUIG), H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland
- Peter Marschang
- Department of Internal Medicine, Central Hospital of Bolzano (SADES-ASDAA), Teaching Hospital of Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), I-39100 Bolzano, Italy
- Andrzej Szuba
- Department of Angiology and Internal Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland
- Dusan Suput
- Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Michael Edmonds
- Diabetic Foot Clinic, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK
- Chris Manu
- Diabetic Foot Clinic, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK
- Christian Alexander Schaefer
- Department of Internal Medicine II—Pneumology/Cardiology/Angiology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
- George Marakomichelakis
- 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, 16676 Athens, Greece
- Majda Vrkić Kirhmajer
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Jonas Spaak
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, SE-182 88 Stockholm, Sweden
- Elias Kotteas
- Third Department of Medicine, Sotiria General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Gianfranco Lessiani
- Angiology Unit, Villa Serena Hospital, AUSL 3, 65121 Pescara, Italy
- Mary Paola Colgan
- Department of Vascular Surgery, St. James Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, Ireland
- Marc Righini
- Division of Angiology and Hemostasis, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
- Michael Lichtenberg
- Vascular Center, Klinikum Hochsauerland, 59759 Arnsberg, Germany
- Oliver Schlager
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Division of Angiology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Caitriona Canning
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, St. James’s Hospital D08 NHY1 Dublin, Ireland
- Antonella Marcoccia
- UOSD Medicina Vascolare-Autoimmunità-CRIIS Centro di Riferimento Sclerosi Sistemica Osp. S. Pertini-ASL Roma, 00157 Rome, Italy
- Anastasios Kollias
- Third Department of Medicine, Sotiria General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Alberta Spreafico
- Digital Health & Innovation, Healthware Group, 20125 Milan, Italy
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13061750
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 6
p. 1750
Abstract
Background: Telemedicine is increasingly used in several fields of healthcare, including vascular medicine. This study aimed to investigate the views of experts and propose clinical practice recommendations on the possible applications of telemedicine in vascular medicine. Methods: A clinical guidance group proposed a set of 67 clinical practice recommendations based on the synthesis of current evidence and expert opinion. The Telemedicine Vascular Medicine Working Group included 32 experts from Europe evaluating the appropriateness of each clinical practice recommendation based on published RAND/UCLA methodology in two rounds. Results: In the first round, 60.9% of clinical practice recommendations were rated as appropriate, 35.9% as uncertain, and 3.1% as inappropriate. The strongest agreement (a median value of 10) was reached on statements regarding the usefulness of telemedicine during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, its usefulness for geographical areas that are difficult to access, and the superiority of video calls compared to phone calls only. The lowest degree of agreement (a median value of 2) was reported on statements regarding the utility of telemedicine being limited to the COVID-19 pandemic and regarding the applicability of teleconsultation in the diagnosis and management of abdominal aortic aneurysm. In the second round, 11 statements were re-evaluated to reduce variability. Conclusions: This study highlights the levels of agreement and the points that raise concern on the use of telemedicine in vascular medicine. It emphasizes the need for further clarification on various issues, including infrastructure, logistics, and legislation.
Keywords
