Prenatal neonatology telemedicine consultation for patients with fetal anomalies during the COVID-19 pandemic era: rapid implementation and lessons learned

Bishop, Clayton; Jackson, Laura E.; Vats, Kalyani; Azzuqa, Abeer

doi:10.1038/s41372-020-00787-9

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As regards telehealth (vs in-person check-ups), our data aligns with previous studies showing that it has been rapidly adopted in perinatal care since the onset of the pandemic (36)(37)(38)(39). Telehealth offers safe access to consultation and follow-up appointments, saving patients both time and money, but is a complex system that normally requires years of implementation and optimization (40) in order to be an effective tool for providing comprehensive and multidisciplinary perinatal care, mainly in cases where physical examination is not or is rarely necessary.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Estimating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal and Perinatal Health Care Services in Italy: Results of a Self-Administered Survey

Cena

Rota

Calza

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is strongly changing the way most people live their lives, and disrupting specialist healthcare systems. Such public health disruptions have resulted in significant collateral damage with particular implications for vulnerable populations, including the perinatal population. This Study aims to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Italian maternal and perinatal health care services. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate the COVID-19 impact on Italian maternal and perinatal healthcare facilities and their activities and provision of services from March to May 2020. The survey was completed by hospital-based and community-based Italian maternal and perinatal healthcare facilities. Most of these were located in Lombardy or Veneto (the most affected Italian regions). 70% of all facilities reported that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced the functioning of one or more aspects of the perinatal service; only 28.4% of facilities all over the country continued to provide outpatient routine visits and examinations as usual; 23.4% of facilities became understaffed during the index period due to various reasons such as ward transfer and sick leave. This is the first Italian study, and among very few international studies that describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on antenatal and postnatal healthcare facilities and their provision of activities and services. Our findings confirm that healthcare systems even in high-income countries were not entirely prepared to handle such a global health emergency; indeed, specialized maternal and perinatal healthcare services have been disrupted by this global health emergency.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Estimating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal and Perinatal Health Care Services in Italy: Results of a Self-Administered Survey

Cena

Rota

Calza

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based on these results, we are considering providing virtual visits to patients in their homes, respecting patients' times and reducing transport costs while allowing them to connect more frequently and easily. Bishop et al recently demonstrated the feasibility of providing prenatal consultation where the patient was located at home, but they did not evaluate patient and provider satisfaction with telemedicine use ( 15 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Patients' and Neonatologists' Satisfaction With the Use of Telemedicine for Neonatology Prenatal Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine plays a critical role in providing safe, effective healthcare services, while reinforcing social distancing and optimizing the use of personal protective equipment. In this context, the Oklahoma Children's Hospital implemented virtual neonatology prenatal visits for pregnant women with a diagnosis of fetal anomalies. While tele-consultations have been broadly used with a high degree of acceptance in rural and remote areas, satisfaction has not been assessed in this particular scenario, where patients and physicians discussing sensitive healthcare information had to rapidly adjust to this new modality.Objectives: To evaluate patients' and neonatologists' satisfaction with virtual prenatal consultations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare satisfaction levels of patients receiving virtual consultation with those receiving in-person consults.Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated patients' and neonatologists' satisfaction with virtual consultations. Participants included pregnant women with diagnosis of fetal anomalies who received neonatology prenatal consultations at Oklahoma Children's Hospital, either in-person or through telemedicine, from May to mid-November 2020, and neonatologists providing virtual prenatal consultations in the same period. Virtual visits were delivered via Zoom Pro™. Patients and physicians who agreed to participate rated acceptability completing an anonymous 5-point Likert scale survey. Item frequencies and means for categories of items were computed by group (video-consult patients, in-person patients, physicians) and analyzed, using Welch's t for unequal sample size.Results: Overall consultation quality was rated good or excellent by 35 (100%) video-consult patients and 12 (100%) in-person patients. Patient group means computed on six 5-point Likert items about patient-physician communication did not differ significantly, video-consult: M = 28.71 (2.22); in-person consult: M = 28.92 (1.78) (p = 0.753263). All eight physicians (100%) agreed or strongly agreed that telemedicine was effective, using a 5-point Likert scale, and their combined consultation quality score computed on 10 survey questions was high: M = 46.4 (3.11).Conclusion: Despite patient inexperience with tele-consultations, the quick implementation of telemedicine, and the sensitive reason for the visit, patients and physicians were highly satisfied with virtual visits. Telemedicine is a safe, effective alternative for providing neonatology prenatal consultations for pregnant women with diagnosis of fetal anomalies during the pandemic.

show abstract

“…I don't think it's the answer to every problem, but I definitely want to work in a place where telemedicine is an option for patients that want that." -T2 (11)(12)(13)(14)(15) (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.…”

Section: Inner Setting (Is)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 Telemedicine has been shown to be advantageous for both patients and healthcare providers, due to its ease of accessibility to attend office visits from different geographical locations, reduced expenses related to travel costs and childcare costs, increased time efficiency for consultations, and limited exposure to infectious diseases. 7 Although most studies have assessed the implementation of telemedicine in various clinical settings without the guidance of theory, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] we aimed to assess the rapid implementation, feasibility, and satisfaction of obstetric telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Consolidated Framework in Implementation Research (CFIR) evaluation framework. 15…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a Rapid Implementation of Telemedicine for Delivery of Obstetric Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Reid

Marshall

Fryer

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: The aim of this evaluation was to assess the rapid implementation of obstetric telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Consolidated Framework in Implementation Research (CFIR) evaluation framework. Study Design: Following one month of telemedicine implementation, obstetric providers at the University of South Florida clinic completed qualitative surveys and in-depth interviews about the implementation of obstetric telemedicine in the clinic guided by the CFIR evaluation framework. Results: Overall, providers considered obstetric telemedicine comparable to traditional in-person clinic visits and acknowledged that they were adequately prepared for the telemedicine implementation. Advantages included the simplicity of implementation, reduced exposure to COVID-19 infection, and convenience factors. Although obstetric telemedicine mostly met patient needs, a lack of access to at-home monitoring devices, physical examinations, reliable internet service, and privacy concerns posed as barriers. Conclusion: The implementation of the obstetric telemedicine care model was deemed a favorable, safe alternative option for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

Prenatal neonatology telemedicine consultation for patients with fetal anomalies during the COVID-19 pandemic era: rapid implementation and lessons learned

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Estimating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal and Perinatal Health Care Services in Italy: Results of a Self-Administered Survey

Estimating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal and Perinatal Health Care Services in Italy: Results of a Self-Administered Survey

Evaluating Patients' and Neonatologists' Satisfaction With the Use of Telemedicine for Neonatology Prenatal Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Evaluation of a Rapid Implementation of Telemedicine for Delivery of Obstetric Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About