Outcomes of telehealth care for lung transplant recipients

Telehealth uses videoconferencing to provide long-distance clinical care. Experience with telehealth in the setting of organ transplantation is limited. The purpose of this cohort study was to compare the impact of telehealth vs in-person follow-up of lung transplant recipients. Telehealth eligible patients were three or more years post-transplant and resided in Ontario outside the Greater Toronto Area. Patients with initial telehealth visits between July 1, 2009, and Dec 31, 2014, were retrospectively reviewed to assess outcomes of chronic lung allograft dysfunction progression and mortality until December 31, 2016, compared with eligible patients seen in-person. Of eligible patients (n = 204), 119 (58.3%) were seen via telehealth. Most patients (97%) rated telehealth as equivalent or superior to clinic visits. Telehealth visits resulted in significant out-of-pocket cost savings and travel distance savings for patients. There was no significant difference in mortality from the time of first visit (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.49-1.32, P = 0.4) or from the time of transplant between groups (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.43-1.17, P = 0.2). Telehealth can safely and effectively be used in select transplant recipients to increase access to care and reduce time and financial burdens for patients residing greater distances from primary transplant centers.