Trends and Challenges of Telehealth in an Academic Institution: The Unforeseen Benefits of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

Wamsley, Christine E; Kramer, Alan; Kenkel, Jeffrey M.; Amirlak, Bardia

doi:10.1093/asj/sjaa212

Cited by 28 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In such situations, people might have opted for a conservative, ‘watch and wait’ approach [ 7 ], while some might have resorted to traditional medicine [ 29 ], as it is a common alternative in Ethiopia. The hospital started to use telephone consultation as alternative means to treat follow-up patients during the last week of May, so we believe this would have minimal effect during the study period [ 30 ]. The hospital has no outreach services; however, patients might have received care at nearby facilities, which we have not evaluated in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends of follow-up clinic visits and admissions three-months before and during COVID-19 pandemic at Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: an interrupted time series analysis

Abebe

Worku

Moges

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Following the first report of the COVID-19 case in Ethiopia on March 13, 2020, the country promptly adopted a lockdown policy to contain the virus’s spread. Responding to the healthcare burden imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic had to be coupled with ensuring essential health care services. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the trends in hospital visits and admissions at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital by comparing the rate of follow-up clinic visits and admissions for the 3 months before and after the first report of the COVID-19 case. Methods A retrospective, time-series study examined the trend in follow-up visits and admissions between December 11, 2019, to June 7, 2020, with the 1st case of the COVID-19 report in Ethiopia (March 13, 2020) as a reference time. To control seasonal effects and random fluctuation, we have compared health care utilization to its equivalent period in 2018/19. A data extraction tool was used to collect secondary data from each unit’s electronic medical recordings and logbooks. Results A total of 7717 visits from eight follow-up clinics and 3310 admissions were collected 3 months before the onset of COVID-19. During the following 3 months after the onset of the pandemic, 4597 visits and 2383 admissions were collected. Overall, a 40.4% decrease in follow-up visits and a 28% decline in admissions were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. A drop in the daily follow-up visits was observed for both genders. The number of visits in all follow-up clinics in 2019/2020 decreased compared to the same months in 2018/19 (p < 0.05). Follow-up visits were substantially lower for renal patients (− 68%), patients with neurologic problems (− 53.9%), antiretroviral treatment clinics (− 52.3%), cardiac patients (− 51.4%). Although pediatric emergency admission was significantly lower (− 54.1%) from the baseline (p = 0.04), admissions from the general pediatric and adult wards did not show a significant difference. Conclusions A decline in follow-up clinic visits and emergency admissions was observed during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will increase the possibility of avoidable morbidity and mortality due to non-COVID-19-related illnesses. Further studies are needed to explore the reasons for the decline and track the pandemic’s long-term effects among non-COVID-19 patients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends of follow-up clinic visits and admissions three-months before and during COVID-19 pandemic at Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: an interrupted time series analysis

Abebe

Worku

Moges

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…4 Other contemporary studies have also been limited to single institutions or specific diagnoses and operations. [10][11][12] The objective of this study is to assess the patterns of telehealth use across surgical specialties before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with the hypothesis that there will be significant variation by surgical specialty.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Telehealth by Surgical Specialties During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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“…The opportunity to perfect physical examination techniques, especially key to procedures wherein precise measurements are fundamental, such as measuring topographic distance and tissue compliance, may be scarce [ 12 ]. Yet the increasing incorporation of artificial intelligence and 3-dimensional printing to compute accurate measurements in digital consultations during the pandemic may circumvent this [ 12 ]. Surgical proficiency, dependent on both psychomotor and cognitive capabilities, may be affected [ 13 ].…”

Section: Plastic Surgery Education and The Role In Telemedicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic surgery education in the COVID-19 pandemic: hindrance or opportunity?

Chau

2021

Arch Plast Surg

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Trends and Challenges of Telehealth in an Academic Institution: The Unforeseen Benefits of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

Cited by 28 publications

References 20 publications

Trends of follow-up clinic visits and admissions three-months before and during COVID-19 pandemic at Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: an interrupted time series analysis

Trends of follow-up clinic visits and admissions three-months before and during COVID-19 pandemic at Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: an interrupted time series analysis

Use of Telehealth by Surgical Specialties During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Plastic surgery education in the COVID-19 pandemic: hindrance or opportunity?

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