A scoping review of the use of e-learning and e-consultation for healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries and their potential complementarity

OBJECTIVE

Although the provision of e-learning (EL) training for healthcare workers (HCWs) and provider-to-HCW e-consultation (EC) is considered useful for health outcomes, research on their joint use is limited. This scoping review aimed to create an overview of what is currently known in the literature about the use and implementation of EC and EL by HCWs in LMICs and to answer the question of whether there is evidence of complementarity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Scientific databases were searched and peer-reviewed papers were reviewed systematically according to predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data were extracted including the study focus (EC/EL), year of publication, geographical location, target population, target disease(s) under study, type(s) of study outcomes, and article type.

RESULTS

A total of 3051 articles were retrieved and screened for eligibility, of which 96 were kept for analysis. Of these, only 3 addressed both EL and EC; 54 studies addressed EL; and 39 addressed EC. Most studies looked at gain in knowledge/skills usability, efficiency, competence, and satisfaction of HCW, or barriers/challenges to implementation. Descriptive studies focused on the application of EL or EC for targeting specific health conditions. Factors contributing to the success of EC or EL networks were institutional anchoring, multiple partnership, and capacity building of local experts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our review found an important gap in the literature in relation to the complementary role of EL and EC for HCWs in LMICs evidenced by outcome measures. There is an important role for national and international academic institutions, learned medical societies, and networks to support regional experts in providing EL and EC for added value that will help the clinical performance of HCWs and improve health outcomes.

Impact of weekly case-based tele-education on quality of care in a limited resource medical intensive care unit

Background

Limited critical care subspecialty training and experience is available in many low- and middle-income countries, creating barriers to the delivery of evidence-based critical care. We hypothesized that a structured tele-education critical care program using case-based learning and ICU management principles is an efficient method for knowledge translation and quality improvement in this setting.

Methods and interventions

Weekly 45-min case-based tele-education rounds were conducted in the recently established medical intensive care unit (MICU) in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Checklist for Early Recognition and Treatment of Acute Illness (CERTAIN) was used as a platform for structured evaluation of critically ill cases. Two practicing US intensivists fluent in the local language served as preceptors using a secure two-way video communication platform. Intensive care unit structure, processes, and outcomes were evaluated before and after the introduction of the tele-education intervention.

Results

Patient demographics and acuity were similar before (2015) and 2 years after (2016 and 2017) the intervention. Sixteen providers (10 physicians, 4 nurses, and 2 physical therapists) evaluated changes in the ICU structure and processes after the intervention. Structural changes prompted by the intervention included standardized admission and rounding practices, incorporation of a pharmacist and physical therapist into the interprofessional ICU team, development of ICU antibiogram and hand hygiene programs, and ready access to point of care ultrasound. Process changes included daily sedation interruption, protocolized mechanical ventilation management and liberation, documentation of daily fluid balance with restrictive fluid and transfusion strategies, daily device assessment, and increased family presence and participation in care decisions. Less effective (dopamine, thiopental, aminophylline) or expensive (low molecular weight heparin, proton pump inhibitor) medications were replaced with more effective (norepinephrine, propofol) or cheaper (unfractionated heparin, H2 blocker) alternatives. The intervention was associated with reduction in ICU (43% vs 27%) and hospital (51% vs 44%) mortality, length of stay (8.3 vs 3.6 days), cost savings ($400,000 over 2 years), and a high level of staff satisfaction and engagement with the tele-education program.

Conclusions

Weekly, structured case-based tele-education offers an attractive option for knowledge translation and quality improvement in the emerging ICUs in low- and middle-income countries.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13054-019-2494-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Seven years of telemedicine in Médecins Sans Frontières demonstrate that offering direct specialist expertise in the frontline brings clinical and educational value

Background

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical humanitarian organization, began using store-and-forward telemedicine in 2010. The aim of the present study was to describe the experience of developing a telemedicine service in low-resource settings.

Methods

We studied the MSF telemedicine service during the period from 1st July 2010 until 30th June 2017. There were three consecutive phases in the development of the service, which we compared. We also examined the results of a quality assurance program which began in 2013.

Results

During the study period, a total of 5646 telemedicine cases were submitted. The workload increased steadily, and the median referral rate rose from 2 to 18 cases per week. The number of hospitals submitting cases and the number of cases per hospital also increased, as did the case complexity. Despite the increased workload, the allocation time reduced from 0.9 to 0.2 hours, and the median time to answer a case decreased from 20 to 5 hours. The quality assurance scores were stable. User feedback was generally positive and more than 90% of referrers who provided a progress report about their case stated that it had been sent to an appropriate specialist, that the response was sufficiently quick and that the teleconsultation provided an educational benefit. Referrers noted a positive impact of the system on patient outcome in 39% of cases.

Conclusions

The quality of the telemedicine service was maintained despite rising caseloads. The study showed that offering direct specialist expertise in low-resource settings improved the management of patients and provided additional educational value to the field physicians, thus bringing further benefits to other patients.

What's app? Electronic health technology in inflammatory bowel disease

Electronic health (eHealth) data collection is increasingly used in many chronic illnesses, to track pattern of disease. eHealth systems have the potential to revolutionize care. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a paradigm for such an approach: this is a chronic disease that usually affects young and technologically literate patient population, who are motivated to be involved in their own care. A range of eHealth technologies are available for IBD. This review considers the strengths and weaknesses of 7 platforms that focus on patient-provider interaction. These have been developed in Denmark, United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, demonstrating an international interest in this form of technology and interaction. Not only do these technologies aim to improve care but they also have the potential to collect large amounts of information. Information includes demographics and patient reported outcomes (symptoms, quality of life), quality of care (steroid use, among other metrics) and outcomes such as hospitalization. These data could inform quality improvement programmes to improve their focus. eHealth technology is also open to machine learning to analyze large data sets, through which personalized algorithms may be developed.

Development and Feasibility Study of a Telemedicine Tool for All Patients with IBD: MyIBDcoach

BACKGROUND

Tight control of disease activity, medication side effects, and adherence are crucial to prevent disease complications and improve quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The chronic nature and increasing incidence of IBD demand health care innovations to guarantee future high-quality care. Previous research proved that integrated care by telemedicine can improve outcomes of chronic diseases. Currently available IBD telemedicine tools focus on specific patient subgroups. Therefore, we aimed to (1) develop a telemedicine system suitable for all patients with IBD in everyday practice and (2) to test this system's feasibility.

METHODS

With a structured iterative process between patients, dietitians, IBD nurse-specialists, and gastroenterologists, myIBDcoach was developed. During 3 months, myIBDcoach's feasibility was tested by 30 consecutive outpatients with IBD of 3 hospitals. Thereafter, patients and health care providers completed a questionnaire covering satisfaction, accessibility, and experiences with myIBDcoach.

RESULTS

MyIBDcoach enables continuous home-monitoring of patients with IBD and optimizes disease knowledge and communication between patients and health care providers. Besides disease activity, medication adherence, and side effects, myIBDcoach monitors malnutrition, smoking, quality of life, fatigue, life-events, work participation, stress, and anxiety and depression and provides e-learnings for patient empowerment. Patients graded the system with a mean of 7.8 of 10, and 93% would recommend myIBDcoach to other patients.

CONCLUSIONS

We developed myIBDcoach, which enables integrated care for all patients with IBD, regardless of disease severity or medication use. The feasibility study showed high satisfaction and compliance of patients and health care providers. To study myIBDcoach's efficacy, a multicenter randomized controlled trial has been initiated.

Telemedicine for Developing Countries. A Survey and Some Design Issues

BACKGROUND

Developing countries need telemedicine applications that help in many situations, when physicians are a small number with respect to the population, when specialized physicians are not available, when patients and physicians in rural villages need assistance in the delivery of health care. Moreover, the requirements of telemedicine applications for developing countries are somewhat more demanding than for developed countries. Indeed, further social, organizational, and technical aspects need to be considered for successful telemedicine applications in developing countries.

OBJECTIVE

We consider all the major projects in telemedicine, devoted to developing countries, as described by the proper scientific literature. On the basis of such literature, we want to define a specific taxonomy that allows a proper classification and a fast overview of telemedicine projects in developing countries. Moreover, by considering both the literature and some recent direct experiences, we want to complete such overview by discussing some design issues to be taken into consideration when developing telemedicine software systems.

METHODS

We considered and reviewed the major conferences and journals in depth, and looked for reports on the telemedicine projects.

RESULTS

We provide the reader with a survey of the main projects and systems, from which we derived a taxonomy of features of telemedicine systems for developing countries. We also propose and discuss some classification criteria for design issues, based on the lessons learned in this research area.

CONCLUSIONS

We highlight some challenges and recommendations to be considered when designing a telemedicine system for developing countries.

User Feedback on the MSF Tele-Expertise Service After a 4-Year Pilot Trial - A Comprehensive Analysis

We surveyed all users of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) tele-expertise service, approximately four years after it began operation. The survey contained 50 questions and was sent to 294 referrers and 254 specialists. There were 163 responses (response rate 30%). There were no significant differences between the responses from French and English users, so the responses were combined for subsequent analysis. Most of the responders were doctors (133 of 157 who answered that question), and most had completed field missions for MSF, i.e., both specialists and referrers. The majority stated that the system was user friendly and that they found it self-explanatory (i.e., they did not need to be shown how to use it). Almost all the referrers found that the telemedicine advice that they received was helpful, changed diagnosis and management, and/or reassured the patient. Similar feedback came from the specialists, who also felt that there was educational value for the field doctor. Although there was general satisfaction with the service, the survey identified various problems. The main concerns of the referrers were the lack of promotion of the system at headquarters' level, and the main concerns of the specialists were the lack of feedback about patient follow-up. Nonetheless, both referrers and specialists recognized the benefits of telemedicine in improving patient management, providing education, and reducing isolation in the field.

Early e-consultation face-to-face conversions

Introduction

E-consultations are asynchronous, text-based consultations. The specialist e-consultant answers clinical questions in a similar way to a standard consultation but the questions and answers are sent electronically. The e-consultant has access to some or all of the medical record but does not have contact with the patient. Although e-consultations are meant to substitute for face-to-face (F2F) consultations, a significant proportion of e-consultations are converted to F2F consultations.

Methods

We examined e-consultation content from a sample of e-consultations that had subsequent F2F visits in the same specialty as the e-consultation within 28 days of the e-consultation.

Results

Out of 5115 e-consultations, there were a total of 547 (10.7%) early F2F conversions. One hundred and fifty-one e-consultations with subsequent early F2F conversions were reviewed in eight specialties. In 64% of the F2F conversions, specialists recommended the F2F consultations. In 75% there were complex diagnostic or treatment considerations. In only 1% was there a sense of medical urgency or a stated need for physical examination.

Discussion

E-consultations convert to F2F consultations primarily at the request of the specialist. Diagnostic and treatment complexity appear to be the main reasons. We found little evidence that patients decided independently to get a F2F visit or that specialists needed a F2F visit to perform a physical examination. Although e-consultations might not be a complete substitute for F2F consultations, they may serve as an entry level consultation that could be supplemented by a video consultation as needed for cases with more diagnostic and treatment complexity.

The need for a robust 24/7 subspecialty "clearing house" response for telementored trauma care

Traumatic injury is increasing in importance in all settings and environments worldwide. Many preventable deaths are from conditions that are common and treatable. However, as potentially lethal injuries often induce progressive and frequently irreversible physiologic decline, the timing of interventions is critical. Invasive treatments may need to be offered by prehospital care providers who lack extensive training and practice. Telementoring allows experienced experts to guide less experienced providers remotely using information technology (IT). Early experience has shown that these techniques are practical and considered valuable. Their translation to regular practice, however, will require the immediate availability of appropriately trained remote experts willing to serve as mentors. Acute care trauma specialists are acclimatized to responding to out-of-hospital consultations and assuming overall responsibility for critical physiology and transport and may serve as the backbone of such a national/ international call response initiative.

Internal e-consultations in an integrated multispecialty practice: a retrospective review of use, content, and outcomes

E-consultations are being offered within clinic walls as an option for specialist advice without a face-to-face consultation appointment. In a six month time frame, nearly 100% of primary care internists and family medicine providers in a multispecialty practice had used an e-consultation at least once. Specialists also used e-consultations for advice from other specialists. E-consultations were often questions about interpreting images or laboratory tests, or questions about management of chronic conditions such as osteoporosis, hypertension, or headaches. Although e-consultations were offered as an alternative to face-to-face specialty consultations, 1,111 of 5,334 e-consultations eventually did receive face-to-face appointments in the same specialty. Within 30 days of the e-consultation 11.5% had a specialty face-to-face visit and 17.7% had seen a specialist face-to-face within 90 days of the e-consultation. The conversions of e-consultations to face-to-face consultations depended on the specialty providing the e-consultation (fewer for gastroenterology and infectious disease), patient distance from the clinic (fewer for international patients and those living greater than 800 kilometers from the clinic), and experience of specialist responding to the e-consultation (lower conversions for specialists providing 15 or more e-consultations).

Mobile phone-based mHealth approaches for public health surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Whereas mobile phone-based surveillance has the potential to provide real-time validated data for disease clustering and prompt respond and investigation, little evidence is available on current practice in sub-Sahara Africa. The objective of this review was to examine mobile phone-based mHealth interventions for Public Health surveillance in the region. We conducted electronic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, IEE Xplore, African Index Medicus (AIM), BioMed Central, PubMed Central (PMC), the Public Library of Science (PLoS) and IRIS for publications used in the review. In all, a total of nine studies were included which focused on infectious disease surveillance of malaria (n = 3), tuberculosis (n = 1) and influenza-like illnesses (n = 1) as well as on non-infectious disease surveillance of child malnutrition (n = 2), maternal health (n = 1) and routine surveillance of various diseases and symptoms (n = 1). Our review revealed that mobile phone-based surveillance projects in the sub-Saharan African countries are on small scale, fragmented and not well documented. We conclude by advocating for a strong drive for more research in the applied field as well as a better reporting of lessons learned in order to create an epistemic community to help build a more evidence-based field of practice in mHealth surveillance in the region.

Assessing the quality of teleconsultations in a store-and-forward telemedicine network

Store-and-forward telemedicine in resource-limited settings is becoming a relatively mature activity. However, there are few published reports about quality measurement in telemedicine, except in image-based specialties, and they mainly relate to high- and middle-income countries. In 2010, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) began to use a store-and-forward telemedicine network to assist its field staff in obtaining specialist advice. To date, more than 1000 cases have been managed with the support of telemedicine, from a total of 40 different countries. We propose a method for assessing the overall quality of the teleconsultations provided in a store-and-forward telemedicine network. The assessment is performed at regular intervals by a panel of observers, who – independently – respond to a questionnaire relating to a randomly chosen past case. The answers to the questionnaire allow two different dimensions of quality to be assessed: the quality of the process itself and the outcome, defined as the value of the response to three of the four parties concerned, i.e., the patient, the referring doctor, and the organization. It is not practicable to estimate the value to society by this technique. The feasibility of the method was demonstrated by using it in the MSF telemedicine network, where process quality scores, and user-value scores, appeared to be stable over a 9-month trial period. This was confirmed by plotting the cusum of a portmanteau statistic (the sum of the four scores) over the study period. The proposed quality-assessment method appears feasible in practice, and will form one element of a quality assurance program for MSF’s telemedicine network in future. The method is a generally applicable one, which can be used in many forms of medical interaction.

Nucleating the development of telemedicine to support healthcare workers in resource-limited settings: a new approach

Collegium Telemedicus (CT) offers a new approach to the problem of starting a store-and-forward telemedicine network for use in low resource settings. The CT organization provides a no-cost template to allow groups to start a network without delay, together with a peer-support environment for those operating the networks. A new group needs only to supply a Guarantor (who accepts responsibility for the work of the network) and a Coordinator (who operates the telemedicine network, allocating cases and ensuring that they are responded to). Communication takes place via secure messaging, which has several advantages over plain email, e.g. all the data are stored centrally, which means that they can be read from a hand-held device such as a smart phone, but do not need to be stored on that device. Users can access the system with a standard web browser. In the first three months, seven networks were established on the CT system by university groups in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and by a large, multinational humanitarian organisation. In the most active network, there were 86 telemedicine cases in the first three months, i.e. an average submission rate of 7 cases/week. The CT system appears to fulfil its aim of assisting doctors who wish to help colleagues in other countries by improving their access to specialist opinions, while allowing them to maintain control over the new network's use and development. The long term aim of the CT organization is to provide a means of improving the quality of health care at the point of delivery in low resource settings.

Image-based medical expert teleconsultation in acute care of injuries. A systematic review of effects on information accuracy, diagnostic validity, clinical outcome, and user satisfaction

Objective

To systematically review the literature on image-based telemedicine for medical expert consultation in acute care of injuries, considering system, user, and clinical aspects.

Design

Systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles.

Data sources

Searches of five databases and in eligible articles, relevant reviews, and specialized peer-reviewed journals.

Eligibility criteria

Studies were included that covered teleconsultation systems based on image capture and transfer with the objective of seeking medical expertise for the diagnostic and treatment of acute injury care and that presented the evaluation of one or several aspects of the system based on empirical data. Studies of systems not under routine practice or including real-time interactive video conferencing were excluded.

Method

The procedures used in this review followed the PRISMA Statement. Predefined criteria were used for the assessment of the risk of bias. The DeLone and McLean Information System Success Model was used as a framework to synthesise the results according to system quality, user satisfaction, information quality and net benefits. All data extractions were done by at least two reviewers independently.

Results

Out of 331 articles, 24 were found eligible. Diagnostic validity and management outcomes were often studied; fewer studies focused on system quality and user satisfaction. Most systems were evaluated at a feasibility stage or during small-scale pilot testing. Although the results of the evaluations were generally positive, biases in the methodology of evaluation were concerning selection, performance and exclusion. Gold standards and statistical tests were not always used when assessing diagnostic validity and patient management.

Conclusions

Image-based telemedicine systems for injury emergency care tend to support valid diagnosis and influence patient management. The evidence relates to a few clinical fields, and has substantial methodological shortcomings. As in the case of telemedicine in general, user and system quality aspects are poorly documented, both of which affect scale up of such programs.

Integration of e-consultations into the outpatient care process at a tertiary medical centre

An e-consultation is an asynchronous consultation performed by a specialist without a face-to-face patient visit. E-consultations have been available to primary care providers at the Mayo Clinic for several years. We reviewed e-consultations performed by specialists at the Mayo Clinic for the first six months of 2013. We included only "internal" e-consultations, originating from within the Rochester practice. During the study period a total of 3242 e-consultations were completed at the Mayo Clinic. After excluding those relating to patients who did not give research consent, 3008 e-consultations remained. We categorized our internal e-consultations into eight types. The most frequently used types were the first e-consultation processes to be implemented: the primary care to specialist e-consultation and the specialist to specialist e-consultation, accounting for 74% of the total. As these two types of e-consultation became widely used, the staff discovered that the e-consultation process could be adapted to meet specific practice needs and six more e-consultation types emerged. For example, intra-specialty e-consultations and surgical e-consultations accounted for 16% of the total. E-consultations appear to have improved access to specialists, and they are integrated into care processes when timely expert opinions are needed. As e-consultations evolve, it will be important to develop a standard, well-defined terminology to compare outcomes of these processes across practices.

Feasibility of a clearing house for improved cooperation between telemedicine networks delivering humanitarian services: acceptability to network coordinators

Background

Telemedicine networks, which deliver humanitarian services, sometimes need to share expertise to find particular experts in other networks. It has been suggested that a mechanism for sharing expertise between networks (a ‘clearing house’) might be useful.

Objective

To propose a mechanism for implementing the clearing house concept for sharing expertise, and to confirm its feasibility in terms of acceptability to the relevant networks.

Design

We conducted a needs analysis among eight telemedicine networks delivering humanitarian services. A small proportion of consultations (5–10%) suggested that networks may experience difficulties in finding the right specialists from within their own resources. With the assistance of key stakeholders, many of whom were network coordinators, various methods of implementing a clearing house were considered. One simple solution is to establish a central database holding information about consultants who have agreed to provide help to other networks; this database could be made available to network coordinators who need a specialist when none was available in their own network.

Results

The proposed solution was examined in a desktop simulation exercise, which confirmed its feasibility and probable value.

Conclusion

This analysis informs full-scale implementation of a clearing house, and an associated examination of its costs and benefits.