Feasibility Study of Telemedicine for Dialysis Patients Awaiting Transplantation

A six-month prospective randomized-controlled clinical pilot study to evaluate a new
intervention for the transplant program: telemedicine (TM) visits. Researchers will target
patients on the transplant waiting list who are currently undergoing dialysis. Currently,
there are 234 patients on the transplant waiting list who receiving care at dialysis centers
in the New York City area. Researchers will select the 10 dialysis centers having the highest
number of patients on the transplant list in order to yield a target sample of 45.

Eligible participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 groups: (1) usual care (UC) which is the
routine 6-month follow up appointment at the NYULMC transplant center or (2) TM visit
conducted at the patient's dialysis unit as a replacement to usual 6 month routine f/u visit.
Patients will be followed for 4 months post randomization to determine the number of days
that elapse between randomization and routine transplant evaluation. As new clinic
appointments are currently experiencing 80-day wait, a 4-month follow-up should be more than
adequate to evaluate this primary outcome.

The intervention will be evaluated primarily in terms of efficiency, and secondarily in terms
of patient/physician experiences, changes in waiting list status, and referral for living
donation.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Receiving thrice-weekly hemodialysis treatment for 6 months

- On NYULMC kidney transplant wait list

Exclusion Criteria:

- Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent

- Unable to read or otherwise use an iPad (e.g. blind)