Randomized Telehealth Trial for IBD; A randomized controlled trial of patient and physician perceptions

COVID-19 Research Area(s): Healthcare Delivery & Policy

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way physicians provide care across all specialties in medicine. The aim of this study is to evaluate patient and physician perceptions of quality of care across three modalities of patient-doctor interaction: telehealth, telephone, and in-person appointments, for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The study is based at Pacific Digestive Health (PDH), a Gastroenterology (GI) clinic on Vancouver Island, Canada, where telehealth has now been available for over one year, and a private clinic in Richmond. All patients and physicians who fit inclusion and exclusion criteria will be invited to participate in the study, which involves randomization to one of each type of appointment for a total of three study appointments. Patients will complete a survey after each appointment assessing their experiences. Physicians will complete a physician-specific survey after each patient appointment assessing their experiences. The survey will collect data on the appointment style and measures of patient and physician perception regarding the quality of the interaction (e.g. communication, interruptions, cost savings, etc.). Data will be collected and analyzed via the REDCap platform. Our goal is to use this data to identify perceived barriers by patients and physicians to improve healthcare delivery to patients with inflammatory bowel disease.