Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Genetics, Medical/education , Telemedicine , Humans , Internship and Residency , Physical Examination , Remote ConsultationABSTRACT
The national importance of telemedicine for safe and effective patient care has been highlighted by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the 2020 pandemic the Division of Genetics and Metabolism piloted a telemedicine program focused on initial and follow-up visits in the patients' home. The goals were to increase access to care, decrease missed work, improve scheduling, and avoid the transport and exposure of medically fragile patients. Visits were conducted by physician medical geneticists, genetic counselors, and biochemical dietitians, together and separately. This allowed the program to develop detailed standard operating procedures. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this pilot-program was deployed by the full team of 22 providers in one business day. Two physicians remained on-site for patients requiring in-person evaluations. This model optimized patient safety and workforce preservation while providing full access to patients during a pandemic. We provide initial data on visit numbers, types of diagnoses, and no-show rates. Experience in this implementation before and during the pandemic has confirmed the effectiveness and value of telemedicine for a highly complex medical population. This program is a model that can and will be continued well-beyond the current crisis.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Endocrinology/organization & administration , Genetics, Medical/organization & administration , Models, Organizational , Pandemics , Telemedicine/organization & administration , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/standards , Endocrinology/education , Female , Genetic Counseling/methods , Genetic Counseling/organization & administration , Genetic Counseling/standards , Genetic Diseases, Inborn/epidemiology , Genetic Diseases, Inborn/therapy , Genetic Testing/methods , Genetic Testing/standards , Genetics, Medical/education , Humans , Implementation Science , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Internship and Residency/methods , Internship and Residency/organization & administration , Internship and Residency/standards , Male , Metabolic Diseases/epidemiology , Metabolic Diseases/therapy , Middle Aged , Patient Safety , Pilot Projects , Program Evaluation , Telemedicine/methods , Young AdultSubject(s)
Audiovisual Aids , Education, Distance/methods , Genetics, Medical/education , Internet , Audiovisual Aids/economics , Audiovisual Aids/statistics & numerical data , COVID-19 , Education, Distance/economics , Education, Distance/statistics & numerical data , Education, Distance/trends , Educational Technology/instrumentation , Humans , Internet/economics , Internet/statistics & numerical data , PandemicsABSTRACT
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is appropriate that our focus is on patient care and preparation. However, the genetics community is well poised to fill in the educational gap created by medical students transitioning to limiting patient contact, creation of telemedicine patient care, and online learning modules. Our history of agility in learning and teaching is now only inhibited by the time constraints of current clinical demands on the genetics community. This publication is designed to offer ideas and resources for quickly transitioning our education to meet the current demands in the time of a pandemic. Not only will this allow us to continue our strong history of education, it will enhance our strong commitment to using modern educational techniques and tools to address the genetics workforce issues that have defined the recent past. We have the opportunity to aggressively educate for trainees that now have the capacity to learn, and to lead the way in showing how the genetics community rallies together no matter the challenge.