Video clinics versus standard face-to-face appointments for liver transplant patients in routine hospital outpatient care: study protocol for a pragmatic randomised evaluation of myVideoClinic

This study will evaluate whether a video clinic implemented at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust improves patient satisfaction compared to standard face-to-face appointments for liver transplant patients.MethodsThis will be a parallel, two-arm, statistician-blinded, randomised evaluation. Clinically stable liver patients at 1 to 5  years post-transplant (n = 180) will be randomised in equal numbers to video clinic appointments (intervention) or standard face-to-face appointments (control). The intervention group will have outpatient appointments from home via a secure video link accessed through the UHB patient portal. All patients will complete b aseline questionnaires before randomisation and electronic follow-up questionnaires after each follow-up appointment during the subsequent 12 months. The primary outcome is the difference in scores between groups for three domains of patient satisfaction, namely ‘convenience of location’, ‘ge tting through to the office by phone’ and ‘length of time waiting’ (modified Visit-Specific Satisfaction Instrument). Secondary outcomes include quality of life (EQ-5D-5 L), costs, clinical contacts and user experience. Statistical analysis will be descriptive and performed on an intention-to -treat basis. The primary outcome will be analysed using baseline and 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month questionnaires (according to patient follow-up appointment frequency) and comparisons made between study arms. A wi...
Source: Trials - Category: Research Source Type: clinical trials