Telehealth-based Eye Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Utilization, Safety, and the Patient Experience.
Am J Ophthalmol
; 230: 234-242, 2021 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1210782
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To assess the initial utilization, safety, and patient experience with tele-ophthalmology during the COVID-19 pandemic.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.METHODS:
We conducted a telephone survey and interview of a random sample of patients who received different modalities of care (in-person, telephone, videocall, or visits deferred) during Michigan's shelter-in-place order beginning March 23, 2020. The survey assessed patient safety, patient satisfaction with care, perceptions of telehealth-based eye care, and worry about eyesight. Data were analyzed via frequency measures (eg, means and standard deviations), χ2 tests, ANOVA, and paired t tests. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory.RESULTS:
A total of 3,274 patients were called and 1,720 (53%) agreed to participate. In-person participants were significantly older than telephone (P = .002) and videocall visit (P = .001) participants. Significantly more white participants had in-person visits than minority participants (P = .002). In-person visit participants worried about their eyesight more (2.7, standard deviation [SD] = 1.2) than those who had telephone (2.5, SD = 1.3), videocall (2.4, SD = 1.1), or deferred visits (2.4, SD = 1.2) (P = .004). Of all telephone or videocall visits, 1.5% (n = 26) resulted in an in-person visit within 1 day, 2.9% (n = 48) within 2-7 days, and 2.4% (n = 40) within 8-14 days after the virtual visit demonstrating appropriate triage to telemedicine-based care. Patients frequently cited a desire for augmenting the telephone or videocall visits with objective test data.CONCLUSIONS:
When appropriately triaged, tele-ophthalmology appears to be a safe way to reduce the volume of in-person visits to promote social distancing in the clinic. A hybrid model of eye care combining ancillary testing with a video or phone visit represents a promising model of care.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ophthalmology
/
Telemedicine
/
Health Care Surveys
/
Eye Diseases
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Ophthalmol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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