Tele-Medicine Services in Hematological Practice During Covid Pandemic: Its Feasibility and Difficulties

Abstract

In COVID 19 pandemic, delivery and access of health care services have become challenging. Telemedicine services can be considered for management of patients with hematological diseases. This study included all patients who enrolled for telemedicine facility for hematology from May 15 to July 15, 2020. Patient's demographic and disease related parameters were recorded during the teleconsultation call. Overall satisfaction of attending doctor and patients were also recorded. A total of 1187 teleconsultation appointments were taken, of which 944 (79.6%) were successfully attended. Median age of patients was 38 years (range-0.5-78 years), with 38% females. 55% of successful calls were from patients suffering a malignant hematological disorder. 24% had an active complaint pertaining to their disease or treatment. Of these, 162 (17%) were asked for a physical consultation. A significant association was found between the requirement of physical consultation and diagnosis (p \ 0.001),

Successful hemostasis of bleeding gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp by endoscopic treatment in a patient with severe COVID-19

“…Although the initial coagulopathy of COVID-19 usually presents with a prominent elevation of D-dimer and fibrin/fibrinogen-degradation products [ 6 ], these were not present in our patient. Rather, we found bleeding from gastric IFP to be the cause of the patient’s progressive anemia.…”

Applications, benefits and challenges of telehealth in India during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: a systematic review

“…Among these finalised articles, ten were published in 2020 [ 32 – 41 ], and nine were published in 2021 [ 42 – 50 ]. Included studies consisted of eleven cross-sectional studies [ 32 , 33 , 35 – 37 , 39 , 40 , 45 , 46 , 49 , 50 ] and eight cohort studies [ 34 , 38 , 41 – 44 , 47 , 48 ]. Studies covered the application of telehealth services for different medical issues, including ophthalmology ( n = 4) [ 32 , 39 , 41 , 46 ], neurology ( n = 4) [ 38 , 42 , 45 , 50 ], dermatology ( n = 2) [ 35 , 43 ], non-communicable diseases ( n = 4) [ 33 , 44 , 48 , 49 ], haematological illness ( n = 1) [ 37 ], orthopaedic issues ( n = 2) [ 36 , 47 ], respiratory illness ( n = 1) [ 34 ], and substance use disorders (SUDs) ( n = 1) [ 40 ].…”

Telemedicine in hematology; long-term implications of a short-term experience during COVID-19 pandemic

“…[6][7][8] e benefits of telemedicine have quickly become more evident in the context of the current crisis, especially given the heightened risk of COVID-19 infection and severity of symptoms among the patients suffering from hematological diseases including leukemia, lymphoma, bone marrow failures, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), patients on immunosuppressives, thalassemia, and many more. [9,10] Shah et al [11] described that by changing practice and embracing telemedicine, they could protect their patient and personnel, minimize resource utilization, better utilization of staff for indoor COVID patients, and continue providing safe essential care. Researchers from the Houston Methodist Cancer Center have shown that during the current pandemic, overall 92.6% of patients and 65.2% of physicians were satisfied with video-based hematology/oncology services during the pandemic.…”

“…A hematologist getting a call from the international space station to treat an astronaut's thrombus during a NASA mission is the example of ultimate telemedicine. [22] Kumar et al [10] from AIIMS (New Delhi, India) conducted a telemedicine feasibility study for various hematological patients and understood multiple factors responsible for a successful teleconsultation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their tertiary care hospital started teleconsultation services for patients who could not attend the physical outpatient department.…”

“…With the emergence of COVID-19, many localities under partial lockdown with a constant fear of contacting viruses among patients and health care providers could see the advantages and feasibility of telemedicine services for their patients. [10] According to Binder et al, [9] post-visit survey data (completed within 2 weeks of the telehealth visit) from their institution revealed that for all patients with cancer, 99% of patients were satisfied with their telehealth visit; 91% of patients agreed with that the telehealth visit system was easy to use; 94% said they would use telehealth visits again; and 87% felt it provided the same care as an in-person visit.…”