Telephone follow-up of patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: early results

Abstract

Background In the midst of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, basic healthcare challenges arise as lockdowns and social isolation are implemented to prevent the spread of the virus. In order to overcome these challenges, the Polish National Health Fund has facilitated telemedical consultations. aims The aim of this study was to compare teleconsultations with regular visits at ambulatory clinic of implantable devices and to assess whether teleconsultations would be an adequate replacement during times of limited face-to-face contact. methods Teleconsultations in the clinic were introduced for patients without the possibility of remote control of cardiac implantable electronic devices. Prior to planned visits, physicians phoned patients and interviewed them about their health. Further treatment decisions were made based on the interview and available medical records. results Teleconsultations were carried out over 3.5 weeks (March 13 to April 1, 2020). Out of 400 patients who had visits planned at the clinic, 349 were consulted by phone. A total of 299 patients confirmed stable health status, 14 reported some symptoms, and 4 were hospitalized; 2 patients changed their primary clinic and were no longer under our care, 1 was undergoing quarantine, 15 required additional intervention, and 15 had died prior to contact. In general, patients gave positive feedback on their teleconsultations. conclusions Teleconsultations are a much-needed option during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. They are an effective way to decrease interpersonal contact and to overcome sudden changes to the ambulatory visit plan, which may otherwise put an overwhelming burden on the clinic.

Learning from the resilience of hospitals and their staff to the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 25, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.22.21255908 doi: medRxiv preprint 1 6 some limitations: it is still not widely available for all HCWs [9], professionals have not always been trained on how to perform effective teleconsultations [40], there are financial barriers such as the lack of reimbursement for most telemedical procedures [31], and patients must have access to an internet connection and be comfortable with the use of technologies [31], [57].…”

“…• Encouraging HCWs and patients to follow strict hygienic protective measures within hospitals. Professionals and patients were asked to wear adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) (hospital scrubs and footwear for HCWs, and surgical masks for HCWs and patients), and to wash and disinfect their hands [29], [31], [34]. Hospitals were also required to disinfect common work surfaces [29], [40] or to ventilate rooms after each visit [31].…”

Cardiological teleconsultation in the coronavirus disease 2019 era: patient’s and physician’s perspective

“…Indeed, the Heart Rhythm Society has recommended more common use of telemedicine for care maintenance, considering the circumstances surrounding this pandemic [3]. Based on the data from national registries, Polish cardiologists have reported that teleconsultations became the standard of care in Poland during lockdown [4,5]. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first research to prospectively evaluate cardiac patients' perspective on teleconsultations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.…”

Challenges in the remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices in 2021

“…Wide spreading of the technology is also starting to promote important observations, theoretically not in selected small sample, but in the hole population of cardiac patients, which represents an extraordinary tool for improvement of knowledge. Every aspect of these unmet needs have been magnified, under the unpredictable situation that the global community is facing in 2021, with SARS-Coronavirus-2 forcing everyone to improve telemedicine and social distancing [77][78][79][80][81][82]. In these extraordinary time it is not unpredictable that unexpected applications of remote technologies may lead to seminal improvement of telemedicine.…”