Application of telemedicine during the coronavirus disease epidemics: a rapid review and meta-analysis

Gao, Yelei; Li, Rui; Zhou, Qi; Wang, Xingmei; Huang, Liping; Shi, Qianling; Wang, Zijun; Lu, Shuya; Li, Weiguo; Ma, Yanfang; Luo, Xufei; Fukuoka, Toshio; Ahn, Hyeong Sik; Lee, Myeong Soo; Luo, Zhengxiu; Liu, Enmei; Chen, Yaolong; Shu, Chang; Tian, Daiyin; Evidence, Covid

doi:10.21037/atm-20-3315

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“… 61 Common uses of telemedicine include video or phone consultations, allowing individuals with chronic conditions to self-monitor symptoms and send this information to their clinicians, mobile apps, and platforms. 55 , 62 For chronic heart failure patients, virtual care has enabled effective routine monitoring (eg, heart rhythm, blood pressure, O 2 saturation) associated with better compliance with treatment rates (51% vs 35%) and follow-up rates than in-person care during COVID-19. 63 Among patients with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma or COPD, remote care has been effective for self-management education (eg, inhaler device training, breathing techniques, recognizing symptoms, forming or complying with action plans, etc.…”

Section: Healthcare Characteristics and Utilization By Individuals Wimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review

Kendzerska¹,

Zhu²,

Gershon³

et al. 2021

RMHP

179

143

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Background Individuals with chronic conditions require ongoing disease management to reduce risks of adverse health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care for non-COVID-19 cases was affected due to the reallocation of resources towards urgent care for COVID-19 patients, resulting in inadequate ongoing care for chronic conditions. Methods A keyword search was conducted in PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus for English language articles published between January 2020 and January 2021. Findings During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person care for individuals with chronic conditions have decreased due to government restriction of elective and non-urgent healthcare visits, greater instilled fear over potential COVID-19 exposure during in-person visits, and higher utilization rates of telemedicine compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. Potential benefits of a virtual-care framework during the pandemic include more effective routine disease monitoring, improved patient satisfaction, and increased treatment compliance and follow-up rates. However, more needs to be done to ensure timely and effective access to telemedicine, particularly for individuals with lower digital literacy. Capitation primary care models have been proposed as a more financially-robust approach during the COVID-19 pandemic than fee-for-service primary care models; however, the interplay between different primary models and the health outcomes is still poorly understood and warrants further investigation. Shortages of medication used to manage chronic conditions were also observed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to global supply chain disruptions. Finally, patients with chronic conditions faced lifestyle disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in physical activity, sleep, stress, and mental health, which need to be better addressed. Interpretation Overall, this review elucidates the disproportionately greater barriers to primary and specialty care that patients with chronic diseases face during the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes the urgent need for better chronic disease management strategies moving forward.

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Section: Healthcare Characteristics and Utilization By Individuals Wimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review

Kendzerska¹,

Zhu²,

Gershon³

et al. 2021

RMHP

179

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During the SARS epidemic of 2002, several provinces in China and Taiwan maintained hotline consultation services that provided medical counseling, including instructions on infection prevention and tracking of suspected cases. [ 16 ]. The main disadvantage of these services was the reallocation of health professionals to telescreening activities, reducing the number of regular medical personnel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging Learning in Medicine and Citizenship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Telehealth-Based Case Study

Cerqueira‐Silva¹,

Carreiro²,

Nunes³

et al. 2021

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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Background COVID-19 presented great challenges for not only those in the field of health care but also those undergoing medical training. The burden on health care services worldwide has limited the educational opportunities available for medical students due to social distancing requirements. Objective In this paper, we describe a strategy that combines telehealth and medical training to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A toll-free telescreening service, Telecoronavirus, began operations in March 2020. This service was operated remotely by supervised medical students and was offered across all 417 municipalities (14.8 million inhabitants) in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Students recorded clinical and sociodemographic data by using a web-based application that was simultaneously accessed by medical volunteers for supervision purposes, as well as by state health authorities who conducted epidemiological surveillance and health management efforts. In parallel, students received up-to-date scientific information about COVID-19 via short educational videos prepared by professors. A continuously updated triage algorithm was conceived to provide consistent service. Results The program operated for approximately 4 months, engaging 1396 medical students and 133 physicians. In total, 111,965 individuals residing in 343 municipalities used this service. Almost 70,000 individuals were advised to stay at home, and they received guidance to avoid disease transmission, potentially contributing to localized reductions in the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the program promoted citizenship education for medical students, who were engaged in a real-life opportunity to fight the pandemic within their own communities. The objectives of the education, organization, and assistance domains of the Telecoronavirus program were successfully achieved according to the results of a web-based post-project survey that assessed physicians’ and students’ perceptions. Conclusions In a prolonged pandemic scenario, a combination of remote tools and medical supervision via telehealth services may constitute a useful strategy for maintaining social distancing measures while preserving some practical aspects of medical education. A low-cost tool such as the Telecoronavirus program could be especially valuable in resource-limited health care scenarios, in addition to offering support for epidemiological surveillance actions.

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“…Given that participation and data sharing are nonbinding, the privacy-first approach could consistently generate skepticism but ideally will enable the implementation to mitigate current and subsequent cyclical pandemics [ 41 ]. Coupled with the efforts from a variety of responders, the rate of participation and delays in data sharing are expected to improve over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the rapid adoption of compulsory digital health measures without public consensus and discussions could provoke debates due to the fundamental heterogeneity in the attitudes regarding how digital health should function and, crucially, who should have access to the generated data [ 38 - 42 , 44 , 45 ]. Residents’ perception of privacy and trust in public authorities can vary from culture to culture, which can impact the captured definition of individual privacy preservation [ 39 - 41 ]. A survey conducted in five other countries (ie, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States) found that people in settings with stronger public privacy and security concerns are relatively less supportive of app-based contact tracing, and individuals with less trust in public authorities are also less supportive [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Design and Implementation of a Peer-To-Peer COVID-19 Contact Tracing Mobile App (COCOA) in Japan

Nakamoto¹,

Jiang²,

Zhang³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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We evaluate a Bluetooth-based mobile contact-confirming app, COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application (COCOA), which is being used in Japan to contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel virus termed SARS-COV-2. The app prioritizes the protection of users’ privacy from a variety of parties (eg, other users, potential attackers, and public authorities), enhances the capacity to balance the current load of excessive pressure on health care systems (eg, local triage of exposure risk and reduction of in-person hospital visits), increases the speed of responses to the pandemic (eg, automated recording of close contact based on proximity), and reduces operation errors and population mobility. The peer-to-peer framework of COCOA is intended to provide the public with dynamic and credible updates on the COVID-19 pandemic without sacrificing the privacy of their information. However, cautions must be exercised to address critical concerns, such as the rate of participation and delays in data sharing. The results of a simulation imply that the participation rate in Japan needs to be close 90% to effectively control the spread of COVID-19.

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Application of telemedicine during the coronavirus disease epidemics: a rapid review and meta-analysis

Cited by 44 publications

References 27 publications

The Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review

The Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review

Bridging Learning in Medicine and Citizenship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Telehealth-Based Case Study

Evaluation of the Design and Implementation of a Peer-To-Peer COVID-19 Contact Tracing Mobile App (COCOA) in Japan

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