Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon a universal electronic consultation program (e-consultation) between general practitioners and cardiologists.
Rev Clin Esp (Barc)
; 223(6): 350-358, 2023.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2309849
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:
Virtual healthcare models, usually between healthcare professionals and patients, have developed strongly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but there are no data corresponding to models between clinicians. An analysis was made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon the activity and health outcomes of the universal e-consultation program for patient referrals between primary care physicians and the Cardiology Department in our healthcare area.METHODS:
Patients with at least one e-consultation between 2018 and 2021 were selected. We analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon activity and waiting time for care, hospitalizations and mortality, taking as reference the consultations carried out during 2018.RESULTS:
A total of 25,121 patients were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis showed a shorter delay in care and resolution of the e-consultation without the need for face-to-face care to be associated to a better prognosis. The COVID-19 pandemic periods (2019-2020 and 2020-2021) were not associated to poorer health outcomes compared to 2018.CONCLUSIONS:
The results of our study show a significant reduction in e-consultation referrals during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a subsequent recovery in the demand for care, and without the pandemic periods being associated to poorer outcomes. The reduction in time elapsed for resolving the e-consultations and no need for face-to-face visits were associated to improved outcomes.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Remote Consultation
/
General Practitioners
/
Cardiologists
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Rev Clin Esp (Barc)
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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