MS Patients Report Satisfaction With Telehealth During Pandemic

About 42 percent of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients received care related to their condition via telehealth, and a majority (77 percent) reported they were satisfied with the virtual care, according to a new study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The study included 70 MS patients and 93 healthy controls (HCs). Within this sample, unemployment and rates of comorbidities were significantly higher among MS patients, while HCs had a higher household income.

The study's goal was to determine the healthcare barriers facing MS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the level of telehealth use and how resourceful it was.

To participate in this study, a patient needed to be 18 years old. Researchers used an online survey delivered through REDCap remotely to collect data. The questions within the survey mainly focused on demographics, prior healthcare use, and exposure to COVID-19. Researchers collected responses between September and October 2020.

Results showed that far fewer MS patients said they had been exposed to COVID-19 as compared with controls, implying that they are generally more cautious than the HC group. As a result, telehealth use among MS patients far exceeded that of HCs, at 90 percent versus 79 percent.

Between 61 and 62 percent of MS patients used telehealth for medical care, both related to and not related to MS, and 91 percent used it for mental healthcare.

Telehealth satisfaction levels for all three types of care ranged from 74 to 93 percent.

Following the data review, researchers concluded that telehealth was extremely beneficial for MS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and that it is worth continuing in the future.

This study does have limitations, however. Specific data related to the state of a patient's MS diagnosis and their insurance was not collected. Also, the small sample of participants and the internet-based survey could have affected results.

Another statistic left undefined was whether a patient had been diagnosed with COVID-19, as that could have correlated with certain results. Lastly, relapse or disease therapy details were also not collected.

Like MS, many chronic diseases have benefitted significantly from telehealth. For example, a study shows that telehealth helped reduce hemoglobin A1C levels among patients with type 2 diabetes. The communication between providers and patients to tighten blood glucose control occurred through telephone communication, video communication, and virtual conferencing.