Subject(s)
Remote Consultation/legislation & jurisprudence , Video Recording , Australia/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Documentation/methods , Electronic Health Records/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Informed Consent/legislation & jurisprudence , Pandemics , Privacy/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has generated a need to rapidly increase online consulting in secondary care, an area in which it has previously been underutilised. We sought to review the guidance on conducting remote consultations and found that while there is a large amount of information about the implementation of remote consultations at an organisation level, there is a paucity of high-quality papers considering the guidelines for online consultations alongside practical advice for their implementation at the individual level. We reviewed guidelines from reputable medical sources and generated practical advice to assist practitioners to perform safe and effective video consultation. Additionally, we noted reports in the literature of a lack of transparency and resulting confusion regarding the choice of telemedicine platforms. We, therefore, sought to summarise key characteristics of a number of major telemedicine platforms. We recognised a lack of clarity regarding the legal status of performing remote consultations, and reviewed advice from medico-legal sources. Finally, we address the sources of these individual uncertainties, and give recommendations on how these might be addressed systematically, so the practitioners are well trained and competent in the use of online consultations, which will inevitably play an increasingly large role in both primary and secondary care settings in the future.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Remote Consultation/organization & administration , Contraindications , Hospitalists , Humans , National Health Programs/organization & administration , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Remote Consultation/legislation & jurisprudence , Remote Consultation/methods , SARS-CoV-2 , United Kingdom/epidemiologyABSTRACT
SYNOPSIS: Telehealth is rapidly being implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite evidence for the effectiveness of telehealth for musculoskeletal examination and treatment, there is a lack of clear guidance related to implementation. We provide recommendations on practical concerns related to delivering telehealth, including choice of platform; legal, ethical, and administrative considerations; building a "webside manner"; and implications for musculoskeletal examination and treatment. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2021;51(1):8-11. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.9902.