Role of Telehealth in the Management of COVID-19: Lessons Learned from Previous SARS, MERS, and Ebola Outbreaks (original) (raw)
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Telehealth - A Boon in the Time of COVID 19 Outbreak
Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences
, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been identified in a group of community acquired pneumonia patients in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. (1) Within one month of its discovery, this novel coronavirus was rapidly spreading in all regions of China and 25 countries in Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and South America, North America. With the COVID 19 pandemic rapidly spreading in India and the world, it is imperative that the rehabilitation team understands virus's epidemiology quickly at the beginning stages of this certainly long global epidemic. Coronavirus is a novel virus, and it has no known immunity for most of the world population. This is more contagious and lethal than influenza viruses, and effective medication and a vaccine are months away. Our strategy against this is primarily social distancing and interventions to manage infections.
Need for Telehealth in the Era of Covid-19
Biomedical Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, 2020
Telehealth means the usage of telecommunications and virtual technology in facilitating healthcare services in far areas. Telehealth is a multi-phasic system as it serves patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) by providing them with helpful tool for proper healthcare services and giving HCWs the chance to receive training sessions and conducting research. Telehealth proved to be practical in outbreaks and emergency settings as it provides platforms that are easy in usage and accessible for health, education, training, and others. Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth services have been of great importance in diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and control of corona virus infection. Telehealth application during COVID-19 pandemic appears in screening and triaging the patients according to their symptoms through phone screening, online tools, mobile applications, and virtual visits to evaluate their conditions, and making the appropriate decisions. Also, telehealth is used in contacts tracing to determine whether they are infectious and need to be quarantined. The importance of telehealth extends to include following up of home isolated patients with mild and moderate symptoms to avoid overcrowding of healthcare facilities, in addition to delivering care by a diverse experienced team to provide and adjust treatment plan. Finally, telehealth sustains continuous care by keeping away from negative outcomes that could occur by delaying due to COVID-19.
A novel use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2021
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic brought with it many challenges but possibly the biggest was the best use of national hospital resources. With the aim to protect the hospital healthcare resources in the country whilst simultaneously safeguarding the health of COVID-19infected patients, a telemedicine system led by experts was set up in Malta. Methods: A team of local experts, called the 'Community COVID-19 Initial Assessment team' (CCIAT), coordinated the initial medical assessment and decisions for all newly diagnosed community patients. Data of all patients were collected prospectively and stored in one database. These data were then analysed to extract the demographics and outcomes of all these patients. Results: Through telemedicine, the majority (91%) of 369 infected patients were managed safely in the community. Only a minority of patients (6%) was admitted to the main acute hospitals and there was no increased morbidity or mortality related to the medical decisions made using this telemedicine tool. Conclusions: This population-based study proves that this particular COVID-19 telemedicine project in Malta achieved its main goals, which were namely that of relieving the burden on the main local acute hospitals whilst ensuring the optimal medical management to infected patients.
Telemedicine and COVID-19 Pandemic: Valuable Lessons for Future Implementations
Journal of Novel Engineering Science and Technology
Telemedicine has gained significant momentum during the pandemic. Telemedicine offers a way for people to access medical care without having to physically visit a healthcare facility, which can be especially important when in-person visits may not be safe due to a highly contagious virus. One major benefit of telemedicine is that it allows for the continuation of healthcare services while also helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19. By providing virtual consultations and treatments, telemedicine helps to limit the number of in-person visits. This is critical to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus and prevent healthcare facilities from becoming overwhelmed. Telemedicine has also helped to address some challenges that have arisen as a result of the pandemic. For instance, by using telemedicine, healthcare providers can reduce the need for PPE and maintain a safe distance while still providing necessary medical care. Despite the many benefits, there are also some challenges and ...
Healthcare
The use of telehealth and digital health platforms has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the implementation of physical distancing measures and restrictions. To address the pandemic threat, telehealth was promptly and extensively developed, implemented, and used to maintain continuity of care offered through multi-purpose technology platforms considered as virtual healthcare facilities. The aim of this paper is to define telehealth and discuss some aspects of its utilization, role, and impact, but also opportunities and future implications particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to support our reflection and consolidate our viewpoints, numerous bibliographical sources and relevant literature were identified through an electronic keyword search of four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate). In this paper, we consider that telehealth to be a very interesting approach which can be effective and affordable for health systems aiming ...
Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2020
The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is again reminding us of the importance of using telehealth to deliver care, especially as a means of reducing the risk of cross-contamination caused by close contact. For telehealth to be effective as part of an emergency response it first needs to become a routinely used part of our health system. Hence, it is time to step back and ask why telehealth is not mainstreamed. In this article, we highlight key requirements for this to occur. Strategies to ensure that telehealth is used regularly in acute, post-acute and emergency situations, alongside conventional service delivery methods, include flexible funding arrangements, training and accrediting our health workforce. Telehealth uptake also requires a significant change management effort and the redesign of conventional models of care. Implementing telehealth proactively rather than reactively is more likely to generate greater benefits in the long-term, and help with the ev...
Connected Health, 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has emerged worldwide as an indispensable resource to improve the surveillance of patients, curb the spread of disease, facilitate timely identification and management of ill people, but, most importantly, guarantee the continuity of care of frail patients with multiple chronic diseases. Although during COVID-19 telemedicine has thrived, and its adoption has moved forward in many countries, important gaps still remain. Major issues to be addressed to enable large scale implementation of telemedicine include: (1) establishing adequate policies to legislate telemedicine, license healthcare operators, protect patients’ privacy, and implement reimbursement plans; (2) creating and disseminating practical guidelines for the routine clinical use of telemedicine in different contexts; (3) increasing in the level of integration of telemedicine with traditional healthcare services; (4) improving healthcare professionals’ and patients’ awareness of an...
Telemedicine solutions for clinical care delivery during COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review
Frontiers in Public Health
Background:The unexpected emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed mindsets about the healthcare system and medical practice in many fields, forcing physicians to reconsider their approaches to healthcare provision. It is necessary to add new, unique, and efficient solutions to traditional methods to overcome this critical challenge. In this regard, telemedicine offers a solution to this problem. Remote medical activities could diminish unnecessary visits and provide prompt medical services in a timely manner.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to provide a map of the existing evidence on the use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on delineation functions and technologies, analyzing settings, and identifying related outcomes.MethodsThis review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. PubMed and ...