Implementation Guide for Rapid Integration of an Outpatient Telemedicine Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Implementation Guide for Rapid Integration of an Outpatient Telemedicine Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.04.030
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发表时间：
2020-08-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Matthews, Catherine A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Smith, Whitney R.;Atala, Anthony J.;Matthews, Catherine A.
背景：在2019年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行中，保持社交距离对于帮助预防疾病传播是必要的。因此，医疗机构无法获得面对面的访问。这对维持适当的病人护理提出了挑战，同时防止一旦解除居家限制导致大量病人积压。在将远程医疗作为一种替代选择的实践中，提供者和工作人员正在面临远程医疗实施方面的挑战。我们的目标是就如何在大流行期间迅速将远程医疗纳入实践提供一份全面指南。方法：我们构建了一个工具包，详细介绍了成功实施远程医疗平台的以下8个基本组成部分：提供者和工作人员培训、患者教育、现有电子病历系统、患者和提供者在硬件方面的投资、计费和编码集成、信息技术支持、视听平台以及患者和护理人员的参与。结果：需要在我们的实践中快速整合远程医疗，以符合我们机构的COVID-19工作组的要求。在宣布后的3天内，我们的大型专科诊所转变为远程医疗平台，我们在实施的第一个月内完成了638次就诊。结论：有效和高效的远程医疗项目整合需要广泛的工作人员和患者教育，辅助平台以促进视频和音频通信，并采用本工具包中概述的新计费代码。(C) 2020年由美国外科医师学会发布。Elsevier Inc.出版。版权所有。)
BACKGROUND: In the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing has been necessary to help prevent disease transmission. As a result, medical practices have limited access to in-person visits. This poses a challenge to maintain appropriate patient care while preventing a substantial backlog of patients once stay-at-home restrictions are lifted. In practices that are naive to telehealth as an alternative option, providers and staff are experiencing challenges with telemedicine implementation. We aim to provide a comprehensive guide on how to rapidly integrate telemedicine into practice during a pandemic.METHODS: We built a toolkit that details the following 8 essential components to successful implementation of a telemedicine platform: provider and staff training, patient education, an existing electronic medical record system, patient and provider investment in hardware, billing and coding integration, information technology support, audiovisual platforms, and patient and caregiver participation.RESULTS: Rapid integration of telemedicine in our practice was required to be compliant with our institution's COVID-19 task force. Within 3 days of this declaration, our large specialty-care clinic converted to a telemedicine platform and we completed 638 visits within the first month of implementation.CONCLUSIONS: Effective and efficient integration of a telemedicine program requires extensive staff and patient education, accessory platforms to facilitate video and audio communication, and adoption of new billing codes that are outlined in this toolkit. ((C) 2020 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)