Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30355358›Full record

ArticleTrials2018

Improving cooperation between general practitioners and dermatologists via telemedicine: study protocol of the cluster-randomized controlled TeleDerm study.

Roland Koch, Andreas Polanc, Hannah Haumann, Gudula Kirtschig, Peter Martus, Christian Thies, Leonie Sundmacher, Carmen Gaa, Leonard Witkamp, TeleDerm Study Group and 1 more

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Roland KochUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Care, Osianderstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. roland.koch@med.uni-tuebingen.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6500-928X
Andreas PolancUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Care, Osianderstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Hannah HaumannUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Care, Osianderstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Gudula KirtschigUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Care, Osianderstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Peter MartusUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry, Silcherstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Christian ThiesReutlingen University, School of Informatics, Alteburgstraße 150, 72762, Reutlingen, Germany.
Leonie SundmacherLudwig-Maximilians-University München, Fachbereich Health Services Management, Schackstraße 4, 80539, Munich, Germany.
Carmen GaaAOK Baden-Württemberg Hauptverwaltung, Fachbereich Integriertes Leistungsmanagement, Presselstraße 19, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany.
Leonard WitkampAcademic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
TeleDerm Study Group
Stefanie JoosUniversity Hospital Tübingen, Institute for General Practice and Interprofessional Care, Osianderstraße 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.

Funding

Innovationsfonds des gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses (DE) 01NVF16012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInternationally, teledermatology has proven to be a viable alternative to conventional physical referrals. Travel cost and referral times are reduced while patient safety is preserved. Especially patients from rural areas benefit from this healthcare innovation. Despite these established facts and positive experiences from EU neighboring countries like the Netherlands or the United Kingdom, Germany has not yet implemented store-and-forward teledermatology in routine care.

methodsThe TeleDerm study will implement and evaluate store-and-forward teledermatology in 50 general practitioner (GP) practices as an alternative to conventional referrals. TeleDerm aims to confirm that the possibility of store-and-forward teledermatology in GP practices is going to lead to a 15% (n = 260) reduction in referrals in the intervention arm. The study uses a cluster-randomized controlled trial design. Randomization is planned for the cluster "county". The main observational unit is the GP practice. Poisson distribution of referrals is assumed. The evaluation of secondary outcomes like acceptance, enablers and barriers uses a mixed-methods design with questionnaires and interviews. DISCUSSION: Due to the heterogeneity of GP practice organization, patient management software, information technology service providers, GP personal technical affinity and training, we expect several challenges in implementing teledermatology in German GP routine care. Therefore, we plan to recruit 30% more GPs than required by the power calculation. The implementation design and accompanying evaluation is expected to deliver vital insights into the specifics of implementing telemedicine in German routine care.

trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00012944 . Registered prospectively on 31 August 2017.

Indexed as

Cooperative BehaviorInterdisciplinary CommunicationAttitude of Health PersonnelDermatologistsDermatologyGeneral PractitionersGermanyHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMulticenter Studies as TopicPatient Care TeamPrimary Health CareRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicReferral and ConsultationSkin DiseasesTelemedicineConsultationImplementationPrimary careReferralTeledermatologyTelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID30355358
PMCPMC6201508

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.