298 Review of Rapid Implementation of Virtual Hand Therapy Clinics During COVID-19

Abstract

Aim The COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of movement restrictions and the concept of social distancing in Ireland, beginning suddenly on March 12th 2020 (1). Following this, virtual consultation via video-call have been identified and integrated as an alternative to in-person consultation. To follow national recommendations and reduce the risk of patient attendance, video consultations were rapidly integrated by the hand therapy team at University Hospital Galway. This service provides a service to 730,513 people across eight counties (2) and was utilised for a range of upper limb injuries, providing vital care to trauma patients post-operatively and to minor injury cases. We wanted to retrospectively assess the implementation of these virtual clinics and how it affected patients. Method Patients were offered virtual hand therapy appointments. Patients were sent a link with their virtual appointment time and date via email. The patient could accept or decline the option of a virtual appointment at this stage. Patient satisfaction was measured via a bespoke survey. Functional outcomes were assessed via the QuickDASH assessment tool (3). Results 44/74 ( 59.5%) of patients responded to the survey. Subjectively, the vast found the service user-friendly, convenient and beneficial. Objectively, the QuickDash score demonstrated low disability and high upper limb function return post injury. Conclusions Implementation of virtual hand therapy was integrated into practise without major issues. Patient satisfaction was very high. Virtual health services have obvious economic and environmental benefits and are essential to providing safe patient care in a social distancing society.