TELEPROM-G: A study evaluating access and care delivery of telehealth services among community-based seniors

Depression in older adults is a pervasive and complex issue associated with poor health outcomes (Carter, Rodda & Walker, 2011). TELEPROM-G is a mobile-based TELEmedicine and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement (PROM) platform designed to enhance delivery of health services among community-based older adults. This one-year pilot study will develop and test a digital system for treating 30 adults (aged 65 or older) with depressive symptoms living in the community by using mobile tablet devices equipped with a Collaborative Health Record (CHR), an e-Health mobile software platform created by InputHealth. Up to 15 multidisciplinary healthcare providers (HCPs) will be able to monitor changes in the health and functional well-being of their clients overtime allowing for early interventions if necessary. The built-in video conferencing functionality will allow for real-time clinical interactions in the client's home. This study will evaluate the value of InputHealth's CHR with clients through individual interviews and focus groups and conduct separate focus groups with HCPs to evaluate how it enhances their work with clients. The technology will be evaluated using four types of analyses including effectiveness, economic, policy, and ethics analysis (Forchuk, Rudnick, MacIntosh, Bukair & Hoch, 2016). Information gleaned from the results of the pilot will enhance the technology and lead to a larger cohort study across multiple sites.