Teleneurology during the COVID-19 pandemic: A step forward in modernizing medical care.
J Neurol Sci
; 414: 116930, 2020 07 15.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-378542
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The COVID-19 pandemic mandated rapid transition from face-to-face encounters to teleneurology visits. While teleneurology is regularly used in acute stroke care, its application in other branches of neurology was limited. Here we review how the recent pandemic has created a paradigm shift in caring for patients with chronic neurological disorders and how academic institutions have responded to the present need.METHOD:
Literature review was performed to examine the recent changes in health policies. Number of outpatient visits and televisits in the Department of Neurology was reviewed from Yale University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to examine the road to transition to televisit.RESULTS:
The federal government and the insurance providers extended their supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several rules and regulations regarding teleneurology were revised and relaxed to address the current need. New technologies for video conferencing were incorporated. The transition to televisits went smoothly in both the institutions and number of face-to-face encounters decreased dramatically along with a rapid rise in televisits within 2 weeks of the declaration of national emergency. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE The need for "social distancing" during the COVID-19 pandemic has created a major surge in the number of teleneurology visits, which will probably continue for the next few months. It may have initiated a more permanent transition to virtual technology incorporated medical care.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Telemedicine
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Nervous System Diseases
/
Neurology
Type of study:
Reviews
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Neurol Sci
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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