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Context: The unprecedented health care scenario caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has revolutionized urology practice worldwide. Objective: To review the recommendations by the international and European national urological associations/societies (UASs) on prioritization strategies for both oncological and nononcological procedures released during the current emergency scenario. Evidence acquisition: Each UAS official website was searched between April 8 and 18, 2020, to retrieve any document, publication, or position paper on prioritization strategies regarding both diagnostic and therapeutic urological procedures, and any recommendations on the use of telemedicine and minimally invasive surgery. We collected detailed information on all urological procedures, stratified by disease, priority (higher vs lower), and patient setting (outpatient vs inpatient). Then, we critically discussed the implications of such recommendations for urology practice in both the forthcoming "adaptive" and the future "chronic" phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence synthesis: Overall, we analyzed the recommendations from 13 UASs, of which four were international (
Although this technological solution has much appeal, it 65 also has some critical limitations. Human contact, affec-66 tions, and emotions are almost impossible to reproduce on 67 an online platform. Many formal and most informal 68 interactions among faculty, delegates, scientific societies, 69 and industries could be at risk, potentially reducing the 70 opportunities for networking. Moreover, the role of 71 the scientific societies themselves could also be jeopar-72 dized, considering the economic implications of such 73 reorganization. 74 Ideally, a union between people and technology should 75 be created. All the unlimited potential of the digital world 76 should be gradually integrated into the real world, leading 77 to a "hybrid" event. A real agora should be merged with a 78 virtual agora, whereby meeting attendees enjoy the virtual 79 content provided and interact with it in real time (Fig. 1B).80 Preliminary experiences using social media (Twitter) during 81 which meeting content was shared and debated between 82 onsite and online attendees have already been reported 83 [8]. In the near future, scientific sessions could be a mix 84 between live and broadcasted events during which the 85 onsite faculty interact dynamically with online members. 86 All the scientific content of the meeting should be 87 transmitted online via real-time or delayed streaming to 88 allow attendees to choose the best time at which to view the 89 sessions. Some meetings already stream plenary session 90 lectures and selected smaller lectures, but this capability 91 could be expanded across the full meeting content. 92 Dedicated online platforms and apps for meeting exist 93 but could be greatly improved in terms of the interface and 94 capability to allow delegates to choose their preferred 95 sessions and explore exhibition areas. Poster "walks" could 96 be conducted virtually, and open Q&A sessions for poster 97 presenters could continue asynchronously throughout the 98 duration of the meeting (and beyond). For onsite attendees, 99 the social experience should be maximized. Scientific 100 sessions should be accompanied by social events aimed 101 to facilitate onsite networking, which remains a highly 102 valuable experience for members of the community to build 103 both personal and scientific relationships.104 The speed and reach of the COVID-19 pandemic have 105 forced rapid changes in how we conduct all aspects of 106 medical practice and research. Some of these-wider and 107 less burdensome implementation of telehealth solutions, 108 for example-have been a long time coming and hopefully 109 will persist as a durable silver lining when the crisis 110 subsides. The similarly rapid evolution in how scientific 111 meetings are conducted should likewise have long-termFig. 1 -(A) Flowchart of plan Q1 ning and logistics activities for a webinar series. Adapted from Fadlelmola et al [7]. (B) Graphical representation of content for a traditional onsite congress and an online web-meeting. Owing to the advent of new technologies and...
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