Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH

“I personally find it very helpful to exam patients in the office, but for people who live remotely and don’t have access to a headache specialist, perhaps they could get their eye exam done locally, and whoever is on the other end of the telemedicine performing the visit could use that information.”

Recently, telemedicine has emerged as a potential candidate to increase care access for patients across a number of conditions. Now, data from Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH, professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology, UT Southwestern, and colleagues have suggested it can provide good care for patients with migraine.

2019 American Headache Society Annual Meeting

, July 11-14, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Friedman sat with 

 to share her insight into the trial and its findings. Specifically, she spoke about the trial’s design, which featured an initial visit in person to Friedman’s practice. She noted that while this isn’t necessarily required anymore, it can certainly help the physician establish a relationship with the patient.

Although, for those who cannot attend an in-person meeting, care can be coordinated with local providers to collect other information, such as eye examinations. In fact, in her trial, patients were required to obtain a number of data points, such as weight and blood pressure measurements, themselves. As such, Friedman shared further insight into how this coordination can ensure the success of telemedicine. For more on Friedman's study, 

Friedman DI, Rajan B, Seidmann A. A randomized trial of telemedicine for migraine management. Presented at: 2019 American Headache Society Annual Meeting. July 11-14, 2019; Philadelphia, PA. Abstract LBOR01.

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The professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology at UT Southwestern discussed the need to better coordinate care between providers when telemedicine is being utilized in headache and migraine care.

Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH: Coordinating Care in Telemedicine

“There are actually states where there are no board-certified UCNS specialists in headache medicine. Given the magnitude of the number of people who have headache—and in many cases disabling headache&mdash;it becomes a real challenge for those people to find someone who’s able to take care of them."

, July 11-14, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH, professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology, UT Southwestern, 

 from a study comparing telemedecine and in-office visits in patients with migraine. She and her co-investigators sought to examine whether telemedicine would be a feasible and efficacious option for migraine patients with severe headache disability.

Clinical outcomes, including improvement in Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) from baseline to 1 year (95% CI, -32.8 to 24.3; 

 =.76), improvement in number of headache days at 1 year (95% CI, -26.8 to 6.67; 

 =.22), and an average improvement in headache severity at 1 year (95% CI, -1.72 to 1.66; 

 =.97) in the telemedicine group were found to be noninferior to the in-office group. Friedman and colleagues noted that convenience was rated higher in the telemedicine group, while visit times were also shorter.

While at the AHS meeting, Friedman sat with 

 to share her insight into the trial and its findings, as well as her thoughts on the use of telemedicine in headache disorders. For more on Friedman's study, 

The professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology at UT Southwestern spoke about the potential of telemedicine in headache medicine, as well as the findings from a single-center, 45-patient study.

Author | Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH

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Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH: Coordinating Care in Telemedicine

Deborah Friedman, MD, MPH: Telemedicine for Headache Disorders