Telemedicine in Rheumatology at the Advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Gkrouzman, Elena; Wu, Dee Dee; Jethwa, Hannah; Abraham, Sonya

doi:10.1007/s11420-020-09810-3

Cited by 28 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Contrary to the studies [ 14 ] forecasting the rise of tele-rheumatology, the majority of clinicians in our survey predicted that teleconsultations would be perhaps the least preferred mode of future consultations. Exact reasons for underuse of telemedicine in future are unclear, but this could be due to several factors including elderly patients who may not have good hearing, lack of internet access, poor quality of the image in video consultations, and network issues.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practice in the UK—a pan-regional rheumatology survey

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare services and rheumatology staff were redeployed to the frontline. The purpose of this survey was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of rheumatology services as viewed by rheumatologists in the UK. Survey monkey questionnaire weblink was sent to 804 clinicians including consultant rheumatologists, speciality trainees, nurse specialists, and allied health professionals in 4 regions of the UK to evaluate personal effects of COVID-19 and redeployment, impact on current out-patient clinic activity, immunosuppressive drug use, and future rheumatology care. Response rate was 21%. One-fifth of the responders reported that their rheumatology departments were functioning less than 50% capacity during the pandemic. Two-third of responders felt anxious about the ill-effects of COVID-19 on their health and well-being, and one-third of them were redeployed. During the peak of the pandemic, 75% of clinicians stopped intravenous biologics. Although access to video consultation was available for up to three-fourths of the clinicians, the majority (90%) used this modality in less than 1 in 4 consultations. This survey highlights rheumatologists' perception in the delivery of future care and anxiety they faced. As demonstrated by this survey, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance did not influence clinician decision making in some aspects of patient care. Underutilization of tele-rheumatology in this survey should be considered whilst planning the restoration of rheumatology services in the post-COVID era.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practice in the UK—a pan-regional rheumatology survey

et al. 2021

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“…Considering that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely to persist, the integration of telehealth into current models of care would become essential in rheumatology as in other areas of healthcare. [7][8][28][29][30][31] The most commonly reported telehealth methods in our study were telephone calls (45.5%), WhatsApp calls (38.6%), and video calls using platforms such as Skype, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams (50.6%). Similarly, a recent multinational study reported that most common teleconsultation modalities were telephone calls (60.5%), WhatsApp calls (43.5%), emails (16.3%) and video calls (9.6%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Gkrouzman et al stated that the COVID-19 outbreak changed the activities of rheumatology services in many ways never seen before. 28 Nearly all respondents of our survey agreed that the use of telemedicine methods is a valid option during the pandemic, but this percentage decline to 50% for a hypothetically post-pandemic scenario. Considering that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely to persist, the integration of telehealth into current models of care would become essential in rheumatology as in other areas of healthcare.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Change of medical practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported worldwide. [4][5][6][7][28][29][30][31] Changes in general population behaviors, public health and medical practice have been reported previously associated with previous outbreaks or pandemics like Zika 10 , influenza A (H1N1) 11-13, 15, 20 , SARS [16][17][18][19]26 , avian influenza (H5N1) 14,17,25 , and chikungunya. 27 The emergence of COVID-19 led to unprecedented changes to rheumatology clinical practice worldwide, including the restructuring of hospitals and the rapid transition to virtual care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Rheumatology Practice in Latin America

et al. 2021

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Objective To describe the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Latin American rheumatologists from a professional, economic, and occupational point of view. Methods We conducted an observational cross-sectional study using an online survey sent to rheumatologists of each non-English-speaking country member of the Pan American League of Rheumatology Associations (PANLAR). A specific questionnaire was developed. Results Our survey included 1097 rheumatologists from 19 Latin American countries. Median (IQR) age of respondents was 48 (40-59) years and 618 (56.3%) were female. Duration of practice since graduation as rheumatologist was 17 years, and 585 (53.3%) were under 50 years of age. Most rheumatologists worked in private practice (81.8%) and almost half worked in institutional outpatient centers (55%) and in-patient care (49.9%). The median number of weekly hours (IQR) of face-to-face practice before the pandemic was 27 (15-40) but it was reduced to 10 (5- 20) during the pandemic. Telehealth was used by 866 (78.9%) respondents during the pandemic. Most common methods of communication were video calls (555; 50.6%), telephone calls (499; 45.5%) and WhatsApp voice calls (423; 38.6%). A reduction in monthly wages was reported by 946 (86.2%) respondents. Consultation fees also were reduced and 88 (8%) rheumatologists stated they had lost their jobs. A reduction in patient adherence to medication was reported by nearly 50% of respondents. Eighty-one (7.4%) rheumatologists received a COVID-19 diagnosis and 7 (8.6%) of them were hospitalized. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped rheumatology practice in Latin America and has had a profound impact on rheumatologists' behaviors and clinical practice.

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“…We studied patient impressions of telemedicine encounters to identify advantages and challenges in utilizing this mode of care delivery. A report from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York showed that their use of telemedicine during the pandemic peaked in May 2020; this is the same period during which we assessed patient satisfaction (12). The majority of patients in this study were satisfied with their telemedicine encounter, but those who got to "see" their rheumatologist by video were more likely to express satisfaction than those who had their visit over the phone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Rheumatology Patient Satisfaction With Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Mortezavi

Lokineni

Garg

et al. 2021

Journal of Patient Experience

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The spread of COVID-19 in the United States has led to the use of virtual visits in lieu of in-person care for the high-risk population of patients in rheumatology. We asked patients to score their satisfaction with these visits and if they would have preferred in-person care instead. Of 679 patients seen in May 2020, 512 (75.4%) were virtual (267 [52.1%] by telephone and 245 [47.9%] by video), and 359 (70%) responded to the survey. The majority of patients (74%) were satisfied with their virtual visit, but they were more likely to be satisfied if their visit was over video rather than phone. They preferred an in-person visit if they were meeting a doctor for the first time, and patients who required a language interpreter were significantly less satisfied with virtual care. There was no correlation of age, sex, diagnosis, or testing ordered with satisfaction. The main concern against virtual care was the inability to have a physical exam, while the main reasons in favor of it were avoidance of potential infection and convenience.

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Telemedicine in Rheumatology at the Advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 28 publications

References 14 publications

Impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practice in the UK—a pan-regional rheumatology survey

Impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practice in the UK—a pan-regional rheumatology survey

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Rheumatology Practice in Latin America

Rheumatology Patient Satisfaction With Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

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