DDRIG: Telemedicine and In-person Practices for the Measurement of Pain

  • Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Total publications:0 publications

Grant number: 2147222

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Key facts

  • Disease

    COVID-19
  • Start & end year

    2022
    2023
  • Known Financial Commitments (USD)

    $13,749
  • Funder

    National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Principal Investigator

    Owen Whooley
  • Research Location

    United States of America
  • Lead Research Institution

    University of New Mexico
  • Research Priority Alignment

    N/A
  • Research Category

    Clinical characterisation and management

  • Research Subcategory

    Supportive care, processes of care and management

  • Special Interest Tags

    Digital Health

  • Study Type

    Clinical

  • Clinical Trial Details

    Not applicable

  • Broad Policy Alignment

    Pending

  • Age Group

    Adults (18 and older)

  • Vulnerable Population

    Unspecified

  • Occupations of Interest

    Unspecified

Abstract

This project asks how the shift to telemedicine platforms has affected the quality of care for chronic pain patients within the Veterans Healthcare Administration. This project will inform health care practices by revealing how telemedicine has changed pain assessment, documentation, and treatment. Lessons learned from this study will have relevance for other healthcare organizations that utilize telemedicine for pain assessment. This project considers the medical implications of transforming qualitative, subjective experiences, such as pain, into quantitative data that create clinical accountability. This study illuminates how technological practices like telemedicine are re-defining the creation of medical knowledge, the parameters of expert jurisdiction, and organizational protocols. It will be of interest to patients, health-care providers, policy makers and administrators.

This project will analyze patient data pre- and post-COVID through an examination of electronic medical records by comparing in-person and remote care. The project aims to identify how practices-such as measuring pain, documenting pain status, prescribing medication, or recommending alternative treatment modalities-are affected by the migration to telemedicine. In doing so, it assesses how the increased use of telemedicine has challenged common assessment and treatment protocols used by health providers. In tandem, interviews with clinicians will trace when and how health care providers decide to bring patients into the clinic for in-person assessment, rather than relying on telemedicine alone. This study will provide an analysis of the need for creating continuous care plans that bridge distinct delivery platforms. The findings from this project will help policymakers and administrators to support clinicians during both in-person and remote visits for pain care.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.