Rapid urbanisation, population growth and the effects of climate change drive the need for sustainable urban water management (SUWM) in Asian cities. The complexity of this challenge calls for the integration of knowledge from different disciplines and collaborative approaches. This paper identifies key issues and sets the stage for interdisciplinary research on SUWM in Asia. It reports on the initial stages of a SUWM research programme being undertaken at Monash University, Australia, and proposes a framework to guide the process of interdisciplinary research in urban water management. Three key themes are identified: (1) Technology and Innovation, (2) Urban Planning and Design, and (3) Governance and Society. Within these themes 12 research projects are being undertaken across Indonesia, China, India and Bangladesh. This outward-looking, interdisciplinary approach guides our research in an effort to transgress single-discipline solutions and contribute on-ground impact to SUWM practices in Asia.
Introduction Access to surgical service is limited by provider availability and geographic barriers. Telemedicine ensures that patients can access medical care. Objective The objective is to describe our use of telemedicine in delivering vascular surgery services to remote locations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review analyzing care delivered at six vascular surgery telemedicine clinics over a 22-month period. We examined vascular diagnoses, recommended interventions, referrals placed, and emergency department visits within 30 days of evaluation. We calculated travel distance saved for patients between their local clinic and our main hospital. Results We identified 94 patients and 144 telemedicine visits, with an average of 1.5 visits per patient (SD = 0.73). The most common referrals were for peripheral artery disease (20.2%) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (14.9%). Three patients were immediately referred to the emergency department due to concern for acute limb ischemia (2) or questionable symptomatic AAA (1). Telemedicine visit recommendations were distributed between no intervention (n = 30, 31.9%), medical management (n = 41, 43.6%), and surgical intervention (n = 23, 24.5%). The surgical intervention cohort was most commonly referred to arterial revascularization (n = 4), venous ablation (n = 4), and arteriovenous fistula procedures (n = 4). Fourteen patients came to our main hospital for surgery and four to local providers. Average travel distance saved per telemedicine visit was 104 miles (SD = 43.7). Conclusions Telemedicine provided safe, efficient care during the COVID-19 pandemic and saved patients an average of 104 travel miles per visit.
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