Telemedicine has equivalent therapeutic efficacy compared to face-to-face consultation with neurologist, but higher compliance and convenience rates.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 27, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- An interesting study published in the journal Cephalalgia, the official journal of the International Headache Society, tested a model of headache care for migraine patients using telemedicine. The study, entitled “A randomized trial of telemedicine for migraine management”, was conducted by the neurologist Deborah I. Friedman, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

Patients consulted the neurologist using a internet-based video/audio system. The neurologist had access to the patient's medical record history.

Eighteen patients were analyzed using the telemedicine system and 12 patients in the traditional face-to-face consultation,followed up for a 12-month period. The data compared between the groups were: percentage of scheduled consultations that were carried out, number of days with migraine, intensity of attacks, migraine-related disability, visit time, and opinion about telemedicine.

Both groups, assisted by telemedicine or in person, showed clinical improvements, with no significant difference between groups.
In the telemedicine group, in 92.7% of the appointments, the consultation was carried out, against 87% of the face-to-face ones. The average consultation time was 34 min. in the face-to-face group vs 25 min. in the telemedicine group, with a similar opinion between groups in this regard.

In the opinion survey regarding the convenience in the form of consultation, 80% of patients in consultation via telemedicine found it "excellent", against 24% in the face-to-face group.

Still, there were criticisms of telemedicine such as loss of human contact with a doctor, impersonality and even discredit of the diagnostic capacity. But the positive results with reduced time spent commuting, avoiding missing the workday, among others, were also highlighted.

These data show that telemedicine can indeed be a useful and effective tool, where the lack of trained professionals and a huge demand for headache care are still a worldwide problem.


Contact Information:

Deborah I Friedman, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, MC 9322, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. Email: Deborah.Friedman@utsouthwestern.edu

About Cephalalgia and International Headache Society: Cephalalgia is the official journal published on behalf of the International Headache Society (IHS), which is the world's leading membership organization for those with a professional commitment to helping people affected by headache. The purpose of IHS is to advance headache science, education, and management, and promote headache awareness worldwide.

Arão Belitardo de Oliveira
International Headache Society
+55 11 99411-9282
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