Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial of Telehealth vs Standard Care in Follow-up of Patients With Chronic Conditions (MAO)

The Norwegian health authorities has initiated a three-year trial of telehealth solutions as part of the treatment of patients with chronic illness in the period 2018-2021.

The follow-up service provides medical support and guidance based on the patient's needs and planned follow-up, and will, in consultation with the user, evaluate whether the user should contact the general practitioner (GP) or emergency room.

About the Project

Within the trial, telehealth indicates that patients are followed-up outside health-care facilities using information and communication technologies (ICTs). Patients who are followed up using telehealth solutions can answer questions about their own health and/or perform measurements related to their health (e.g. blood pressure, blood glucose, oxygen measurement, weight) via a tablet according to a personalized schedule. The measurement values are transferred from the measuring devices to a tablet so that the users can easily see them and track their results over time. The results are also transmitted digitally to a follow-up service, a healthcare center with nurses, who contacts the patient when needed.

The study population of the trial includes users with comprehensive medical needs, with medium to high risk of worsening of their condition, hospitalization or increased need for health and care services.

The evaluation includes three main parts: 1) An effect evaluation which is designed as a randomized control trial, 2) a cost-benefit analysis, and 3) a process evaluation which aims to provide recommendations for how to organize and implement telemedicine in clinical practice. The primary outcomes include physical and mental health state, patient experience and use of health services.

The effect evaluation is designed as a pragmatic open label multi-center randomized control trial, with two parallel arms with 300 patients in each arm. Patients are recruited between February 2019 and June 2020.

Read the report from the evaluation "Digital hjemmeoppfølging - sluttrapport fra nasjonal utprøving 2018-2021" at helsedirektoratet.no

The project is now in a phase of further analysis and publication.

Financing

The Norwegian Directorate of Health

Cooperation

Cooperation with Oslo Economics and the University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway.

Start - Finish

2018 - 2024

 

 

Published Jan. 7, 2020 8:20 AM - Last modified Mar. 6, 2023 6:06 PM

Participants

  • Tor Iversen Universitetet i Oslo
  • Geir Godager Universitetet i Oslo
  • Øyvind Snilsberg Universitetet i Oslo
  • Erik Lønnmark Werner Universitetet i Oslo
  • Erik Magnus Sæther (Oslo Economics)
  • Ivar Sønbø Kristiansen (Oslo Economics)
  • Marit Svendsgaard (Oslo Economics)
  • Kine Pedersen (Oslo Economics)
  • Gjermund Lien (Oslo Economics)
  • Christoffer Bugge (Oslo Economics)
  • Hanna Isabel Løyland (Oslo Economics)
  • Birgit Abelsen (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
Detailed list of participants