Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Virtual Visits for Outpatient Burn Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Head, William T; Garcia, Denise; Mukherjee, Rupak; Kahn, Steven; Lesher, Aaron.
  • Head WT; College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
  • Garcia D; Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
  • Mukherjee R; Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
  • Kahn S; Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
  • Lesher A; Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
J Burn Care Res ; 43(2): 300-305, 2022 03 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1483466
ABSTRACT
Burn-injured patients must frequently travel long distances to regional burn centers, creating a burden on families and impairing clinical outcomes. Recent federal policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic have relaxed major barriers to conducting synchronous videoconference visits in the home. However, the efficacy and benefits of virtual visits relative to in-person visits remained unclear for burn patients. Accordingly, a clinical quality assurance database maintained during the coronavirus pandemic (3/3/2020 to 9/8/2020) for virtual and/or in-person visits at a comprehensive adult and pediatric burn center was queried for demographics, burn severity, visit quality, and distance data. A total of 143 patients were included in this study with 317 total outpatient encounters (61 virtual and 256 in-person). The savings associated with the average virtual visit were 130 ± 125 miles (mean ± standard deviation), 164 ± 134 travel minutes, $104 ± 99 driving costs, and $81 ± 66 foregone wage earnings. Virtual visit technical issues were experienced by 23% of patients and were significantly lower in pediatric (5%) than in adult patients (44%; P = .006). This study is the first to assess the efficacy of synchronous videoconference visits in the home setting for outpatient burn care. The findings demonstrate major financial and temporal benefits for burn patients and their families. Technical issues remain an important barrier, particularly for the adult population. A clear understanding of these and other barriers may inform future studies as healthcare systems and payors move toward improving access to burn care through remote healthcare delivery services.
Subject(s)

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Burns / Telemedicine / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adult / Child / Humans Language: English Journal: J Burn Care Res Journal subject: Traumatology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Jbcr

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Burns / Telemedicine / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adult / Child / Humans Language: English Journal: J Burn Care Res Journal subject: Traumatology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Jbcr