Remote assessment and practice implementation for disorders in ears, nose and throat: a mixed-methodology observational study in the United Kingdom
Spinos, Dimitrios Beech, Thomas Coulson, Christopher Greenfield, Sheila Litchfield, Ian Nankivell, Paul Allen, Richard Muzaffar, Jameel
Spinos, Dimitrios
Beech, Thomas
Coulson, Christopher
Greenfield, Sheila
Litchfield, Ian
Nankivell, Paul
Allen, Richard
Muzaffar, Jameel
Abstract
Introduction: Ear, nose and throat (ENT) conditions are highly prevalent in primary and secondary care, yet patients frequently face prolonged waits for specialist review. In England, over half of ENT patients wait beyond the NHS 18-week referral-to-treatment target. Many of these cases can be effectively managed with advice and non-surgical interventions, presenting an opportunity for remote service innovation.This study aims to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability and environmental sustainability of a digitally enabled remote ENT clinic model compared with traditional face-to-face pathways.
Methods and analysis: This single-centre, mixed-methods, prospective cohort study will be conducted at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Remote clinics will use trained staff to collect diagnostic data (including endoscopic imaging and boothless hearing tests) for consultant review via secure cloud-based software. Quantitative analysis will assess patient outcomes, costs, waiting times, carbon footprint and satisfaction. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with patients, clinicians and managers will explore acceptability, scalability and barriers to implementation. The qualitative data will be analysed using the framework methodology, according to the non-adoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread and sustainability framework, while the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology framework will be used to guide the reporting of quantitative data. Cost-effectiveness analyses will follow NICE guidelines, while environmental impact will be measurement will be informed by the sustainability in quality improvement framework. Recruitment will be aiming for 300 completed datasets and 30-35 interviews.
Affiliations
University of Birmingham; University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Date
2026-04-15
Type
Article
Collections
Citation
Spinos D, Beech T, Coulson C, Greenfield S, Litchfield I, Nankivell P, Allen R, Muzaffar J. Remote assessment and practice implementation for disorders in ears, nose and throat: a mixed-methodology observational study in the United Kingdom. BMJ Open. 2026 Apr 15;16(4):e115521. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-115521.