Telemedicine Support for Primary Care Providers versus Usual Care in Patients with Heart Failure: Protocol of a Pragmatic Cluster Randomised Trial within the Brazilian Heart Insufficiency with Telemedicine (BRAHIT) Study.
Leonardo GraeverAurora Felice Castro IssaViviane Belidio Pinheiro da FonsecaMarcelo Machado MeloGabriel Pesce de Castro da SilvaIsabel Cristina Pacheco da NóbregaLeonardo Cançado Monteiro SavassiMariana Borges DiasMaria Kátia GomesJosé Roberto Lapa E SilvaRaphael Mendonça GuimarÃesRenato Cony SeródioAnne FrølichHenrik GudbergsenJanus Christian JakobsenMaria Helena Dominquez Vall-LamoraPublished in: International journal of environmental research and public health (2023)
Heart failure is a prevalent condition and a frequent cause of hospital readmissions and poor quality of life. Teleconsultation support from cardiologists to primary care physicians managing patients with heart failure may improve care, but the effect on patient-relevant outcomes is unclear. We aim to evaluate whether collaboration through a novel teleconsultation platform in the Brazilian Heart Insufficiency with Telemedicine (BRAHIT) project, tested on a previous feasibility study, can improve patient-relevant outcomes. We will conduct a parallel-group, two-arm, cluster-randomised superiority trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio, with primary care practices from Rio de Janeiro as clusters. Physicians from the intervention group practices will receive teleconsultation support from a cardiologist to assist patients discharged from hospitals after admission for heart failure. In contrast, physicians from the control group practices will perform usual care. We will include 10 patients per each of the 80 enrolled practices (n = 800). The primary outcome will be a composite of mortality and hospital admissions after six months. Secondary outcomes will be adverse events, symptoms frequency, quality of life, and primary care physicians' compliance with treatment guidelines. We hypothesise that teleconsulting support will improve patient outcomes.
Keyphrases
- primary care
- heart failure
- healthcare
- end stage renal disease
- quality improvement
- general practice
- study protocol
- randomized controlled trial
- clinical trial
- ejection fraction
- palliative care
- chronic kidney disease
- emergency department
- newly diagnosed
- atrial fibrillation
- left ventricular
- prognostic factors
- magnetic resonance
- type diabetes
- cardiovascular disease
- open label
- pain management
- magnetic resonance imaging
- depressive symptoms
- weight loss
- clinical practice
- smoking cessation
- affordable care act