Telemedicine during Covid-19 pandemic: Advantage or critical issue?

Perrone, Giuseppe; Zerbo, Stefania; Bilotta, Clio; Malta, Ginevra; Argo, Antonella

doi:10.1177/0025817220926926

Cited by 52 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Minor technical breakdowns have been demonstrated not to cause major disruptions to clinical interactions [ 41 ]. In fact, video consultations have been considered an effective modality in the provision of health care to cancer and palliative patients and their relatives [ 40 , 47 , 48 ], for whom nontechnical and social-emotional skills are essential. Therefore, training regarding video consultation, to facilitate its adequate adaptation in the provision of high-quality care, is needed [ 46 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increase in Video Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions about Their Implementation and Adequate Management

Jiménez-Rodríguez

García

Robles

et al. 2020

IJERPH

112

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, health care modalities such as video consultations have been rapidly developed to provide safe health care and to minimize the risk of spread. The purpose of our study is to explore Spanish healthcare professionals’ perceptions about the implementation of video consultations. Based on the testimonies of 53 professionals, different categories emerged related to the four identified themes: benefits of video consultations (for professionals, patients, and the health system, and compared to phone calls), negative aspects (inherent to new technologies and the risk of a perceived distancing from the professional), difficulties associated with the implementation of video consultations (technological difficulties, lack of technical skills and refusal to use video consultation among professionals and patients), and the need for training (technological, nontechnical, and social-emotional skills, and adaptation of technical skills). Additionally, the interviewees indicated that this new modality of health care may be extended to a broader variety of patients and clinical settings. Therefore, since video consultations are becoming more widespread, it would be advisable for health policies and systems to support this modality of health care, promoting their implementation and guaranteeing their operability, equal access and quality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increase in Video Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions about Their Implementation and Adequate Management

Jiménez-Rodríguez

García

Robles

et al. 2020

IJERPH

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…87/2020). All patients were informed and signed an “information form” as well as an “acceptance form”, according to national laws and the emergency state established during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telemedicine Chronic Viral Hepatitis C Treatment during the Lockdown Period in Romania: A Pilot Study

Doica

Florescu

Oancea

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic is currently delaying the process of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) eradication, since most of the chronic diseases are neglected. Thus, there is a need for alternative programs for HCV therapy implementation and disease monitoring. Our aim was to provide a multidisciplinary approach, so that HCV-infected patients from distant locations may benefit from HCV antivirals during the COVID-19 outbreak and within the lockdown period in Romania. Previously diagnosed HCV patients willing to participate in this telemedicine pilot study were included. Patient characteristics and medical adherence were assessed and compared to the year preceding the pandemic. We proposed a multidisciplinary approach by using a telemedicine program for HCV therapy monitoring. Patients also received a satisfaction questionnaire after delivering the sustained virologic response (SVR) result. A total of 41 patients agreed to participate in this study. The medication adherence was 100% for patients included in the telemedicine group, with a statistically significant difference from the medication adherence of the patients treated in 2019. The satisfaction item score was 4.92 out of 5 and our results (r = −0.94, p < 0.0001) suggested that older patients embraced the telemedicine program less, but with the same success in terms of SVR (100%) and medication adherence (100%). Our pilot study offers the first example of a telemedicine program in Romania for HCV therapeutic management. During the lockdown period, telemedicine has served as a reliable tool and novel alternative for conventional monitoring of patients treated with direct antiviral agents and should be further considered even following the pandemic.

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“…Politicians see technology-supported health care, such as the use of apps and video consultations, as a solution to the complex problems of demographic development. Delivering health care to an aging and diverse population is a challenge due to the increase of the aging population and the diminishing number of health care professionals [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Care Professionals’ Experiences With the Use of Video Consultation: Qualitative Study

Christensen¹,

Skou²,

Danbjørg³

2021

JMIR Form Res

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Background The number of remote video consultations between doctors and patients has increased during the last few years and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health care service is faced with rising rates of chronic illness and many patients who are more confident in self-management of their illnesses. In addition, there is an improved long-term outlook for serious conditions, such as cancer, that might require flexibility in everyday life. Objective This study aimed to investigate how medical doctors in the outpatient clinic use and experience the use of video consultations with hematological patients, with a focus on relational and organizational aspects. Methods The study was designed as an explorative and qualitative study. Data were collected via participant observations and focus group interviews with medical doctors. Results The study identified possibilities and barriers in relation to adapting to the alternative way of meeting patients in the clinical setting. One of the main findings in this study is that the medical doctors were afraid that they missed important observations, as they were not able to perform a physical examination, if needed. They also emphasized that handshake and eye contact were important in order to get an overall impression of the patient’s situation. It also became clear that the medical doctors used body language a lot more during video consultation compared with consultation in a physical setting. The medical doctors found the contact with the patients via the screen to be good, and the fact that the technology was working well made them feel comfortable with the video consultation. Conclusions In this study, we found that the medical doctors were able to maintain good contact with the patients despite the screen and were able to assess the patients in a satisfying manner. However, there were still uncertainties among some doctors about the fact that they could not examine the patients physically. New knowledge about how to use gestures and body language during video consultation was obtained.

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Telemedicine during Covid-19 pandemic: Advantage or critical issue?

Cited by 52 publications

References 5 publications

Increase in Video Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions about Their Implementation and Adequate Management

Increase in Video Consultations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions about Their Implementation and Adequate Management

Telemedicine Chronic Viral Hepatitis C Treatment during the Lockdown Period in Romania: A Pilot Study

Health Care Professionals’ Experiences With the Use of Video Consultation: Qualitative Study

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