Telemedicine Usage Among Urologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study

Dubin, Justin M.; Wyant, W. Austin; Balaji, Navin C.; Ong, William; Kettache, Reda H.; Haffaf, Malik; Zouari, Skander; Santillán, Diego Abad de; Autrán-Gómez, Ana María; Sadeghi‐Nejad, Hossein; Loeb, Stacy; Borin, James F.; Rivas, Juan Gómez; Grummet, Jeremy; Ramasamy, Ranjith; Teoh, Jeremy Yuen‐Chun

doi:10.2196/21875

Cited by 72 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…A study by Dubin et al revelaed increased use of telemedicine by urologists, with the majority of the urologists declaring they wanted to continue using it in their routine practice. 22 Although, our results showed a lower ratio of preference of telemedicine in Turkey, it seems a gradual increase day by day. This fact was supported by the survey that evaluated patients' perspective for telemedicine during pandemic and showed that majority of the patients wished for telemedicine(84.7%) rather than clinical visits.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Functional Urology Practice: A nation-wide survey from Turkey

Tahra

Dincer²,

Onur

2021

Preprint

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Objective The Coronavirus pandemic has affected urological practice worldwide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate functional urology practice including outpatient clinic visits, routine examinations, diagnostic procedures and surgical interventions with an online survey. Method We conducted an online survey to evaluate Turkish urologists’ functional urology practices before and during the pandemic. In this survey, we asked questions about the respondents’ place of work, being part of a dedicated pandemic center, involvement with the pandemic and an interest in functional urology. We also examined outpatient clinics, routine examinations, diagnostic methods, and surgical practice before and during the pandemic. Results A total of 152 urologists completed the survey. The majority of the participants, (79.6%) were in tertiary centers. Nearly one-third of respondents (32.2%) stated that more than 50% of their routine practice is related to functional urology. In brief, 80.9% of the participants declared a decrease in the number of outpatient visits for functional urology. 68.4% of the participants declared a decrease in uroflowmetry practice, and 81.3% of had a decrease in urodynamic studies performed. According to respondents, 92.1% stated a decrease in botulinum injections for the bladder, and 93.4% of the participants declared a decrease in anti-incontinence surgery. Eighty-five percent of the participants declared a decrease in prolapse surgery. One-hundred and twenty-eight participants (84.2%) declared a decrease in surgery for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Only 28.9% of the participants responded that they diagnosed their neuro-urology patients as they did prior to the pandemic. Conclusions The daily practice of urology changed, and functional urology was one of the most affected field. The large backlog of functional urology patients is challenging and although conditions, diagnostic tools and surgeries were classed as “benign”, we will have to face the effects of patients’ Quality of life in the near future.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Functional Urology Practice: A nation-wide survey from Turkey

Tahra

Dincer²,

Onur

2021

Preprint

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“…Although earlier studies in the US have paid attention to the wide variation in telehealth use by specialty, the aforementioned study was the first to quantify the variation across medical specialties at the individual provider level. The results of this landmark 2018 study have already been widely referenced in the general telehealth literature, and the evidence has been corroborated in the growing ‘specialty-level’ telehealth literature during the pandemic [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

A Narrative Review of Factors Historically Influencing Telehealth Use across Six Medical Specialties in the United States

Rangachari

Mushiana

Herbert

2021

IJERPH

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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies in the US have identified wide variations in telehealth use across medical specialties. This is an intriguing problem, because the US has historically lacked a standardized set of telehealth coverage and reimbursement policies, which has posed a barrier to telehealth use across all specialties. Although all medical specialties in the US have been affected by these macro (policy-level) barriers, some specialties have been able to integrate telehealth use into mainstream practice, while others are just gaining momentum with telehealth during COVID-19. Although the temporary removal of policy (coverage) restrictions during the pandemic has accelerated telehealth use, uncertainties remain regarding future telehealth sustainability. Since macro (policy-level) factors by themselves do not serve to explain the variation in telehealth use across specialties, it would be important to examine meso (organizational-level) and micro (individual-level) factors historically influencing telehealth use across specialties, to understand underlying reasons for variation and identify implications for widespread sustainability. This paper draws upon the existing literature to develop a conceptual framework on macro-meso-micro factors influencing telehealth use within a medical specialty. The framework is then used to guide a narrative review of the telehealth literature across six medical specialties, including three specialties with lower telehealth use (allergy-immunology, family medicine, gastroenterology) and three with higher telehealth use (psychiatry, cardiology, radiology) in the US, in order to synthesize themes and gain insights into barriers and facilitators to telehealth use. In doing so, this review addresses a gap in the literature and provides a foundation for future research. Importantly, it helps to identify implications for ensuring widespread sustainability of telehealth use in the post-pandemic future.

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“…Dubin et al . [ 7 ] find lack of technological comprehension, patients´ lack of access to required technology, and reimbursement concerns to be the main barriers to use telemedicine. Perhaps these reasons apply in Tunisia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urological activity at the time of COVID-19 pandemic: Is there any differences between public and private field?

Zouari¹,

Saadi²,

Chakroun³

et al. 2020

Pan Afr Med J

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Introduction as COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving, there is a whole reorganization in hospitals to concentrate more resources to face the crisis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 disease on urological activity in Tunisia. To assess the differences in the management of urological conditions between the private and the public field. Methods a survey was addressed to all certified urologists working in Tunisia in both the public and private sectors (n=194) using the national database of active urologists available and updated. We either called them or looked them up through email or social media. The form was open from March the 28 th to April the 3 rd . Results were obtained via spreadsheet and analysed using SPSS 23.0. Results one hundred and twenty urologists have filled in the form. Consultations at the outpatient office were restricted to urgent cases in 66% (n=79). Telemedicine was more used by urologists in private than in public fields p=0.03. Urologists in private sector followed more the sterilization protocol of the hospital/clinic and used more disposable materials whenever possible p=0.011. Elective surgical activity has completely stopped in 85% of the responders (n=102). Elective surgery requiring transfusion or intensive care unit was performed in 38% (n=46) and 26% (n=31) if there was a risk of disease progression. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) surgery was more performed as usual in private sector than in public sector p=0.012. It was the only condition managed differently between both sectors. Conclusion the drop of the urological activity is essential in order to give relevant stakeholders room to act efficiently against the spread of the virus. The context of the pandemic and the hospital´s condition must be taken into consideration without compromising the patient´s outcome.

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Telemedicine Usage Among Urologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study

Cited by 72 publications

References 18 publications

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Functional Urology Practice: A nation-wide survey from Turkey

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Functional Urology Practice: A nation-wide survey from Turkey

A Narrative Review of Factors Historically Influencing Telehealth Use across Six Medical Specialties in the United States

Urological activity at the time of COVID-19 pandemic: Is there any differences between public and private field?

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