During a one-year randomized, controlled trial, researchers compared usual care to usual care supplemented by four virtual visits at patient homes conducted via video conferencing.
The research team measured feasibility by the proportion who completed at least one virtual visit and the proportion of virtual visits completed on time; as well as efficacy, which they measured by the change in the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39, a quality of life scale.
Researchers enrolled 210 patients and randomized 195. Seventy-three percent had seen a specialist recently.
Ninety-five patients completed at least one virtual visit, and 91 percent of 388 virtual visits were completed. Quality of life did not improve in those receiving virtual house calls nor did quality of care or caregiver burden. Each virtual house call saved patients a median of 88 minutes and 38 miles per visit.
“Providing remote neurologic care directly into the homes of people with PD was feasible and was neither more nor less efficacious than usual in-person care,” study authors concluded.
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