Is Telemedicine Effective for Migraine Follow-Up?

PHILADELPHIA—Telemedicine may be a plausible alternative to in-office visits for follow-up for patients with migraine, according to a small study presented at the American Headache Society’s 61st Annual Scientific Meeting.

For their study, the researchers screened 50 patients with migraine who had presented for an initial visit between September 2014 and June 2015. Of these patients 45 were enrolled in the study. Twenty-two patients were randomly assigned to the “telemedicine group” for follow-up care, and the remaining 23 were assigned to the “in-office group.” Follow-up visits occurred at 4 to 6 weeks and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Telemedicine visits were conducted via Zoom Video Communications, and in-office visits occurred at a single practice. Participants in both groups completed questionnaires before and after each visit. Willing participants engaged in a telephone interview following their final visit.

The primary outcome was defined as the percentage of telemedicine visits that were completed as scheduled, and secondary outcome measures were Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS), visit time, and perceptions of telemedicine, which were assessed via a questionnaire.

Ultimately, 18 telemedicine participants and 12 in-office participants completed the study. Participants had scheduled a total of 96 telemedicine visits and successfully completed 89. The results of the study showed that clinical outcomes in the telemedicine group, especially improvement in MIDAS, number of headache days, and average headache severity at 12 months, were non-inferior to outcomes in the in-office group. Telemedicine visits also had higher convenience ratings and shorter visit times compared with in-office visits.

“In this small randomized study, telemedicine was a feasible mode of treatment and an effective alternative to in-office visits for follow-up of migraine,” the researchers concluded. “Physician productivity could be higher with telemedicine and patients may have better access because of its convenience.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Friedman DI, Balaraman R, Seidmann A. A randomized trial of telemedicine for migraine management. Paper presented at: American Headache Society 61st Annual Scientific Meeting; July 11-14, 2019; Philadelphia, PA.