Nick Mannix1, Jack Finn1, Kevin Weber1, Andrew Sas1
1The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Department of Neurology
Objective:
The purpose of the study is to determine which patients are using tele-health to follow-up for their concussion care and whether socioeconomic status is a factor in the decision.
Background:
The American Academy of Neurology position statement in 2019 stated that telemedicine can be appropriate for concussion evaluations, and the pandemic provided a natural timepoint to assess the efficacy of telehealth compared to in-person care. Previous aspects of this study suggest that outcomes are similar for patients that follow-up via telehealth versus in-person. The current aim is to determine if factors like socioeconomic status or distance traveled affect a patient’s choice for mode of follow-up.
Design/Methods:
This is a retrospective chart review of 150 adult patients that were seen in the concussion clinic between 2020 and 2022 either in-person or by video visit after an initial in-person appointment. Chart review included, age, sex, race, days from injury to appointment, mechanism of injury, post-concussion symptom score, and neurological exam findings. Outcome measures included therapy referral, follow-up, and time to recovery. Distance from clinic was based on home address, and socioeconomic status was determined by zip code review of SES based on the patient’s home address.
Results:
We found that patients who utilized tele-health follow-up live an average of 41.2 miles from the clinic (range 25.3-54.0, median 44.3 miles); average income for their zip code was $73,056 with a poverty rate of 12.15%. For in-person, the average distance was 9.62 miles (range 1.9-43.3, median 5.7 miles); average zip code income was $76,762 with a poverty rate of 15.06%.
Conclusions:
Patients who use tele follow-up for their concussion care tend to live farther from the clinic, but come from zip codes with similar average income and poverty rates as those who follow-up in person. Distance from clinic appears to be a driving factor in choosing tele-neurology care.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.