Effectiveness of an Online Portal for Delivery of Care to Home Dialysis Patients
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 39
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in Patient Satisfaction
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Home dialysis has many potential benefits compared to in-center hemodialysis including improved quality of life, reduced hospital admission and reduced cost. However, some patients perceive that home modalities are associated with increased isolation from the healthcare system, substandard care or higher risk of catastrophic events. Providing better support for home dialysis patients may enhance their ability to maintain at home, improve their health outcomes, increase quality of life and improve satisfaction with care. In other chronic disease populations a secure, online communication portal between physicians and patients has proven useful in enhancing care for patients. Thus far, the utility of an online portal communication system has not been tested in a cohort of home dialysis patients. The investigators hypothesize that this novel form of communication will improve care and outcomes for home dialysis patients. Therefore, in a cohort of home dialysis patients, the purposes of this study are as follows: 1) Does an online patient-portal improve patient satisfaction with home dialysis care? 2) Does an online patient-portal improve quality of life? 3) Does an online patient-portal reduce hospitalization and health service utilization?
Detailed Description
Home dialysis (including peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis) has a number of potential benefits over in-center hemodialysis (including lower healthcare costs and improved quality of life for patients). However, overall quality of life remains low compared to the general population. Furthermore, home dialysis patients (primarily those on peritoneal dialysis) continue to experience a high rate of hospitalization. Finally, there can be improvement in patient satisfaction with home dialysis, particularly in the areas of shared decision making and handling of patient requests.
Regarding satisfaction with care, peritoneal dialysis patients have identified that "attentiveness to concerns", and clarity of recommendations is important. Improved satisfaction in turn, may be associated with improvements in quality of life. Therefore, identifying novel communication systems for home dialysis patients is crucial. The use of eHealth online portals that support online communication between patients and healthcare workers is increasing. An interface that allows patients to discuss treatment plans and address clinical problems while obviating the need for telephone communication has been shown to be beneficial in some studies. Such a system may improve patient satisfaction, reduce health service utilization, and potentially improve health outcomes.
Thus far, the feasibility and potential benefit of an eHealth online portal to facilitate communication has not been evaluated in home dialysis. Therefore, in a cohort of home dialysis patients, the purpose of this study is to identify the following: 1) Does an online portal improve patient satisfaction with home dialysis care? 2) Does an online portal improve quality of life? 3) Does an online portal reduce hospitalization and health service utilization? Overall, we hope that this study will inform the need to pursue a larger, multicenter trial to more rigorously evaluate the utility of this novel form of communication for home dialysis patients.
We will conduct a prospective pilot study of prevalent (receiving home dialysis for at least three months) home dialysis patients (including both peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis) at Capital Health. Consecutive patients that are evaluated in the home dialysis clinic over a 4-month period will be enrolled in the study if they provide consent.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Supportive Care
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Prevalent (>=3 months) home dialysis patients (peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Does not provide consent
- •On home dialysis for less than 3 months
Arms & Interventions
Electronic Patient Portal
RelayHealth is a web-based application that allows patients and healthcare workers to communicate through a secure, password protected online portal with data transfer capabilities. Effectiveness of the portal in improving several health outcomes from baseline-12 months will be assessed in this study.
Intervention: Electronic Patient Portal (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in Patient Satisfaction
Time Frame: 12 months
Patient satisfaction will be examined in all patients at 0, 6 and 12 months using the Consumer Quality index (CQI) instrument (van der Veer SN, Jager KJ, Visserman E, Beekman RJ, Boeschoten EW, de Keizer NF, Heuveling L, Stronks K, Arah OA. Development and validation of the Consumer Quality index instrument to measure the experience and priority of chronic dialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012 Aug;27(8):3284-91. This Dutch-language tool will be translated to English using a validated translation procedure.
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in Quality of Life(12 Months)
- Hospitalization and Health-Care Utilization Rates(12 Months)
Investigators
Karthik Tennankore
Assistant Professor, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine
Nova Scotia Health Authority