Utilization of telemedicine to provide post-discharge care: A comparison of pre-pandemic vs. pandemic care

Background Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, post-discharge virtual visits transitioned from a novel intervention to standard practice. Our aim was to evaluate participation in and outcomes of virtual post-discharge visits in the early-pandemic timeframe. Methods Pandemic cohort patients were compared to historical patients. Patient demographics, clinical information, and post-discharge 30-day hospital encounters were compared between groups. Results The historical cohort included 563 patients and the pandemic cohort had 823 patients. There was no difference in 30-day hospital encounters between patients who completed a video vs. telephone visit in the pandemic cohort (3.8% vs. 7.6%, p = 0.11). There was a lower 30-day hospital encounter rate in pandemic video and telephone visits compared to similar historical sub-groups. Conclusion Expansion of virtual post-discharge visits to include all patients and telephone calls did not negatively impact rates of 30-day post-discharge hospital encounters. Offering telehealth options for post-discharge follow-up does not appear to have negative impact on healthcare utilization.

Utilization of telemedicine to provide post-discharge care: A comparison of pre-pandemic vs. pandemic care.

BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, post-discharge virtual visits transitioned from a novel intervention to standard practice. Our aim was to evaluate participation in and outcomes of virtual post-discharge visits in the early-pandemic timeframe. METHODS: Pandemic cohort patients were compared to historical patients. Patient demographics, clinical information, and post-discharge 30-day hospital encounters were compared between groups. RESULTS: The historical cohort included 563 patients and the pandemic cohort had 823 patients. There was no difference in 30-day hospital encounters between patients who completed a video vs. telephone visit in the pandemic cohort (3.8% vs. 7.6%, p = 0.11). There was a lower 30-day hospital encounter rate in pandemic video and telephone visits compared to similar historical sub-groups. CONCLUSION: Expansion of virtual post-discharge visits to include all patients and telephone calls did not negatively impact rates of 30-day post-discharge hospital encounters. Offering telehealth options for post-discharge follow-up does not appear to have negative impact on healthcare utilization.

Impact of COVID-19 on common non-elective general surgery diagnoses.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health and hospital policies were enacted to decrease virus transmission and increase hospital capacity. Our aim was to understand the association between COVID-19 positivity rates and patient presentation with EGS diagnoses during the COVID pandemic compared to historical controls. METHODS: In this cohort study, we identified patients ≥ 18 years who presented to an urgent care, freestanding ED, or acute care hospital in a regional health system with selected EGS diagnoses during the pandemic (March 17, 2020 to February 17, 2021) and compared them to a pre-pandemic cohort (March 17, 2019 to February 17, 2020). Outcomes of interest were number of EGS-related visits per month, length of stay (LOS), 30-day mortality and 30-day readmission. RESULTS: There were 7908 patients in the pre-pandemic and 6771 in the pandemic cohort. The most common diagnoses in both were diverticulitis (29.6%), small bowel obstruction (28.8%), and appendicitis (20.8%). The lowest relative volume of EGS patients was seen in the first two months of the pandemic period (29% and 40% decrease). A higher percentage of patients were managed at a freestanding ED (9.6% vs. 8.1%) and patients who were admitted were more likely to be managed at a smaller hospital during the pandemic. Rates of surgical intervention were not different. There was no difference in use of ICU, ventilator requirement, or LOS. Higher 30-day readmission and lower 30-day mortality were seen in the pandemic cohort. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of the COVID pandemic, there was a decrease in visits with EGS diagnoses. The increase in visits managed at freestanding ED may reflect resources dedicated to supporting outpatient non-operative management and lack of bed availability during COVID surges. There was no evidence of a rebound in EGS case volume or substantial increase in severity of disease after a surge declined.

Postdischarge Virtual Visits for Low-risk Surgeries: A Randomized Noninferiority Clinical Trial.

Importance: Postdischarge video-based virtual visits are a growing aspect of surgical care and have dramatically increased in the setting of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of all-cause 30-day hospital encounter proportion among patients who have a postdischarge video-based virtual visit follow-up compared with in-person follow-up. Design, Setting, and Participants: Randomized, active, controlled noninferiority trial in an urban setting, including patients from a small community hospital and a large, tertiary care hospital. Patients who underwent minimally invasive appendectomy or cholecystectomy by a group of surgeons who cover emergency general surgery at these 2 hospitals were included. Patients undergoing elective and nonelective procedures were included. Interventions: Patients were randomized in a 2:1 fashion to video-based virtual visit or in-person visit. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome is the percentage of patients with 30-day hospital encounter, and we hypothesized that there would not be a significant increase in the 30-day hospital encounter proportion for patients who receive video-based virtual postdischarge care compared with patients who receive standard (in-person) care. Hospital encounter includes emergency department visit, observation, or inpatient admission. Results: A total of 1645 patients were screened; 289 patients were randomized to the virtual group and 143 to the in-person group. Fifty-three patients crossed over to the in-person follow-up group. The percentage of patients who had a hospital encounter was noninferior for virtual visits (12.8% vs 13.3% for in-person, Δ 0.5% with 1-sided 95% CI, -∞ to 5.2%). The amount of time patients spent with the clinician (mean of 8.4 minutes virtual vs 7.8 minutes in-person; P = .30) was not different, but the median overall postoperative visit time was 27.5 minutes shorter (95% CI, -33.5 to -24.0). Conclusions and Relevance: Postdischarge video-based virtual visits did not increase hospital encounter proportions and provided shorter overall time commitment but equal time with the surgical team member. This information will help surgeons and patients feel more confident in using video-based virtual visits. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03258177.

Reentry to Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery During the COVID19 Pandemic.

Patients with obesity and diabetes have higher risk for severe complications and mortality from COVID19 infection. In addition, unexpected mortalities were reported in a small series of asymptomatic COVID19-positive patients undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS). Several organization including IFSO and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) endorsed recommendations to suspend elective nonessential surgery including MBS during the peak period of COVID19. However, both recommendations have no clear guidelines on how to prioritize MBS patients after the peak of COVID19 cases has passed, but there remain patients with asymptomatic COVID19 in the community. We present a tiered approach to restart MBS during the COVID19 pandemic once the peak of new cases has passed or the curve of new COVID19 cases has flattened.

Maximizing the Calm before the Storm: Tiered Surgical Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has now spread throughout the world, being verified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic on March 11. This had led to the calling of a national emergency on March 13 in the US. Many hospitals, healthcare networks, and specifically, departments of surgery, are asking the same questions about how to cope and plan for surge capacity, personnel attrition, novel infrastructure utilization, and resource exhaustion. Herein, we present a tiered plan for surgical department planning based on incident command levels. This includes acute care surgeon deployment (given their critical care training and vertically integrated position in the hospital), recommended infrastructure and transfer utilization, triage principles, and faculty, resident, and advanced care practitioner deployment.