From the University of Pennsylvania (Dr. Parisien), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Mr. Shin), College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University (Mr. Constant), OrthoCarolina (Dr. Saltzman), Boston University Medical Center (Dr. Li), and Columbia University Medical Center (Dr. Levine and Dr. Trofa).
J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2020 Jun 1;28(11):e487-e492. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-20-00339.
The purpose of this investigation is to assess the current utilization of telehealth capabilities at academic orthopaedic departments in the United States and to determine how practice patterns have been directly influenced by the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Orthopaedic surgery programs participating in the Electronic Residency Application Service were identified. One hundred seventy-five (175) programs were presented with a seven-item questionnaire addressing whether each program is using telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the 175 Electronic Residency Application Service participant orthopaedic programs, 168 responded for a total response rate of 96%. Of the 106 institutions using telehealth services, 88 (83%) cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the impetus for implementation of telehealth services. Institutions located in the Northeast and South regions were markedly more likely to offer telehealth services. Heat map analysis demonstrates an associative overlap of regional "hot spots" with direct comparison of COVID-19 cases in the United States and orthopaedic departments providing telehealth services.
This study demonstrates the impressive measures academic orthopaedic institutions are taking to meet the needs of our patients by identifying a notable increase in new telehealth offerings throughout the United States with a positive correlation with COVID-19 disease burden.
本研究旨在评估美国学术骨科部门目前对远程医疗能力的利用情况，并确定实践模式如何直接受到 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的影响。
确定参加电子住院申请服务的骨科手术项目。向 175 个项目提出了一个包含七个问题的问卷，询问每个项目是否正在使用远程医疗服务以应对 COVID-19 大流行。
在 175 个参加电子住院申请服务的骨科项目中，有 168 个项目做出了回应，总回应率为 96%。在 106 家使用远程医疗服务的机构中，88 家（83%）将 COVID-19 大流行作为实施远程医疗服务的动力。位于东北部和南部地区的机构明显更有可能提供远程医疗服务。热点图分析表明，区域“热点”与美国 COVID-19 病例和提供远程医疗服务的骨科部门之间存在直接关联。
本研究通过在美国各地发现远程医疗新服务的显著增加，并与 COVID-19 疾病负担呈正相关，展示了学术骨科机构为满足患者需求而采取的令人印象深刻的措施。
