Telehealth Evaluations to Screen Kidney Transplant Candidates Does Not Adversely Affect Time to or Rate of Transplant
1VA, Nashville
2VUMC, Nashville.
Meeting: 2018 American Transplant Congress
Abstract number: A311
Keywords: Kidney transplantation, Outpatients, Screening, Waiting lists
Session Information
Session Name: Poster Session A: Non-Organ Specific: Disparities to Outcome and Access to Healthcare
Session Type: Poster Session
Date: Saturday, June 2, 2018
Session Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm
Presentation Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm
Location: Hall 4EF
Background. Telehealth can improve efficiency, timeliness, and cost effectiveness for kidney transplant waitlist candidates. Patients approved for further evaluation after a screening telehealth visit are brought for an in-person evaluation at our center. We wanted to ensure that our dual visit telehealth screening process did not adversely affect their rate of or time to transplant.
Methods: All patients approved at our center for kidney transplant evaluation from March 2013 thru August 2016 with decisions were included in this study. Patients were either initially evaluated by telehealth or in-person. We determined times to transplant to compare by initial visit type (telehealth vs in-person). We also evaluated waitlist changes by initial evaluation type through November 2017 including if patients were: transplanted, died, inactivated, removed, or remains active. Comparisons of times to transplant between cohorts were performed with t-tests.
Results: 298 patients were included; 155 patients seen in-person vs. 143 by telehealth. For the in-person cohort, 98 were listed and 21 have been transplanted. Fifty patients initially seen by telehealth were approved after an in-person visit; 10 have been transplanted. Time to transplant from initial evaluation to time of transplant was 572 days and 542 days for the in-person and telehealth cohorts, respectively, which was not statistically different (p=0.82). There was no difference in outcomes once waitlisted.
| in-Person | Telehealth | p-value | |
| Approved for waitlisting(n) | 98 | 50 | <0.05 |
| Time from initial visit to listing (days) | 145.8 | 244.5 | 0.13 |
| Time from initial visit to transplant (days) | 572.0 | 542.3 | 0.82 |
| Waitlist Outcomes: | |||
| Transplanted (n) | 21 (21.4%) | 10 (20%) | ns |
| Died (n) | 4 (4%) | 1 (2%) | ns |
| Inactivated (n) | 12 (12.2%) | 6 (12%) | ns |
| Removed (n) | 18 (18.4%) | 12 (24%) | ns |
| Remains active (n) | 43 (43.8%) | 21 (42%) | ns |
Conclusion: Screening patients referred for kidney transplant evaluation by telehealth with a subsequent required in-person visit does not affect access for these patients in terms of time to transplant, rate of transplant, or rate of other waitlist outcomes. This is reassuring for transplant centers who are currently utilizing or considering applications for telehealth.
CITATION INFORMATION: Forbes R., Rybacki D., Johnson T., Shaffer D., Hale D. Telehealth Evaluations to Screen Kidney Transplant Candidates Does Not Adversely Affect Time to or Rate of Transplant Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Forbes R, Rybacki D, Johnson T, Shaffer D, Hale D. Telehealth Evaluations to Screen Kidney Transplant Candidates Does Not Adversely Affect Time to or Rate of Transplant [abstract]. https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/telehealth-evaluations-to-screen-kidney-transplant-candidates-does-not-adversely-affect-time-to-or-rate-of-transplant/. Accessed May 11, 2025.« Back to 2018 American Transplant Congress