Clinical and economic impact of telemedicine in the management of pediatric asthma in Jordan: a pharmacist-led intervention

Abstract

Objective Pediatric asthma is a major public health concern, considering its chronic nature and negative effects on quality of life of affected children. Telemedicine is efficacious in providing pharmaceutical care for patients with several chronic diseases, including asthma. This approach allows habitants of sparsely populated rural Jordanian areas to remotely access high-quality healthcare services. Pharmacist-provided asthma counseling has proven benefits in improving patient adherence rates and their understanding. This study evaluated clinical and economic impacts of pharmacist-led, interactive synchronous telemedicine counseling of pediatric asthma patients in Jordan. Methods A randomized, controlled, 12-week pre-post interventional study was conducted. Ninety patients with uncontrolled asthma aged 5–11 years were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups: intervention or control. Inhaler use was checked for both groups at baseline, along with assessment of clinical and economic measures. Counseling on proper inhaler use was provided by pharmacists. Telemedicine sessions for the intervention group were scheduled every 4 weeks, whereas the control group received standard care. Pertinent measures reflecting the level of disease control and relapse were tracked monthly. Results The intervention group showed more significant improvement in clinical and economic outcomes than the control group (the Childhood Asthma Control Test mean scores [P = 0.0134], decreased parental loss of wages [P = 0.0015], and decreased economic burden [P < 0.001]). Additionally, overall improvement in quality of life and satisfaction with the telemedicine sessions were reported. Conclusion Pharmacist-led telemedicine counseling could be a promising approach to deliver distant pharmaceutical care for patients with childhood asthma.