Virtual Care Transition for COPD (TELE-TOC Trial)

Palo Alto (17 mi)

Overseen byValerie G Press, MD, MPH

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Travel: May be covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: N/A

Waitlist Available

Sponsor: University of Chicago

No Placebo Group

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?Transitions of Care (TOC) between hospital, ambulatory, and home settings for high-risk, frequently hospitalized adults with chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are complex, costly, and vulnerable to safety threats and poor health outcomes. One potential solution to address this gap in care is the Transitional Care Model (TCM), which utilizes a patient-centered approach with in-home interventions; since in-person in-home visits are costly, using innovative telehealth, such as virtual visits via teleconferencing may be just as effective with greater feasibility, scalability, and sustainability, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era as has been seen the rapid expansion of these technologies. With a transdisciplinary team of experts from cognitive science, care transitions/handoffs, human factors engineering, design, implementation science, and health services research, the study team proposes to implement and evaluate via a randomized clinical trial the "TELE-TOC: Telehealth Education: Leveraging Electronic Transitions Of Care for COPD patients," intervention which includes a virtual visit, pharmacy-based, in-home intervention for COPD patients to improve medication use and patient outcomes among a population at high risk for readmission and medication safety events.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for adults aged 40 or older who have been hospitalized with a COPD exacerbation and are part of the COPD Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. It's designed to help those at high risk for readmission and medication issues.

Treatment Details

The study tests a telehealth intervention called TELE-TOC, which includes virtual visits and pharmacy-based in-home support after hospital discharge, aiming to improve medication use and health outcomes in COPD patients.

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Active Control

Group I: TELE-TOC plus Usual CareExperimental Treatment6 Interventions

Patients randomized to this arm will receive the TELE-TOC intervention as well as the standard COPD care via the institution's COPD readmission reduction program.

Group II: Usual CareActive Control4 Interventions

Patients randomized to this arm will receive standard COPD care via the institution's COPD readmission reduction program.