A model for the pandemic and beyond: Telemedicine for all outpatient gastroenterology referrals reduces unnecessary clinic visits.
J Telemed Telecare
; 28(8): 577-582, 2022 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1978618
ABSTRACT
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has forced providers to dramatically scale down in-person clinic visits to enforce social distancing and triage care to the neediest patients. We describe our five-month experience with a hybrid gastroenterology electronic consultation programme starting in 2019 in which we perform electronic consultations for every referral regardless of indication as well as directly initiate telephone-based telehealth visits with patients without the need for in-person clinic. Over five consecutive months, 1243 hybrid electronic consultations were performed with 356 (29%) resulting in a clinic appointment. The remaining 887 (71%) electronic consultations were resolved without need for a clinic visit. Five hundred and fourteen (41%) electronic consultations resulted in a directly scheduled procedure without clinic appointment. Eighty-five per cent of electronic consultations were performed on the same day of referral and 98% of electronic consultations were completed in under 20 min. A hybrid electronic consultation model which pre-emptively reviews all outpatient referrals streamlines access to specialty care. Such a model may be implemented rapidly during the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic as well as serve as a platform for long-term improvement in efficiency of care.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Telemedicine
/
Gastroenterology
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Telemed Telecare
Journal subject:
Medical Informatics
/
Health Services
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1357633X20957224
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