Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Jan;54(1):25-29. doi: 10.23822/EurAnnACI.1764-1489.184. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
This study aimed to characterise how the follow-up of outpatients was done during the first months of COVID-19 pandemic by a multidisciplinary group of physicians involved in an asthma mHealth project. A cross-sectional study based on a web survey was conducted. The survey was sent to 123 physicians working at secondary care centres of Portugal and Spain, that participate in the INSPIRERS project. A total of 65 physicians completed the survey (53% response rate). They had a mean of 18 (11) years of clinical practice and 14% were residents. More than half were allergists (58%), 22% pulmonologists and 20% paediatricians. Most were working in Portugal (89%) and in public hospitals (88%). All were conducting consultations: 71% presential (median [p25 , p75] duration 30 [20, 30] min), 91% telephonic (15 [10, 20] min) and 20% video consultations (20 [10, 28] min). The median duration of presential consultations was significantly higher than pre-COVID-19 (20 [20, 30] min; p = 0.021). From the physicians conducting video consultations, 92% were allergists and only 54% considered that their institution provided adequate conditions. The physicians of the INSPIRERS group used telephonic consultations as the main alternative to presential ones and 1/5 used video consultations. These results suggest the need to rethink clinical follow-up services for outpatients in the near future increasing the use of telemedicine, especially video consultations.
本研究旨在描述在 COVID-19 大流行的头几个月，参与哮喘移动医疗项目的多学科医师团队如何对门诊患者进行随访。这是一项基于网络调查的横断面研究。调查发送给了葡萄牙和西班牙的二级保健中心的 123 名参与 INSPIRERS 项目的医生。共有 65 名医生完成了调查（回应率为 53%）。他们的平均临床经验为 18 年（11 年），14%为住院医师。超过一半的人是过敏科医生（58%），22%是肺病科医生，20%是儿科医生。他们大多数在葡萄牙（89%）和公立医院（88%）工作。所有人都在进行咨询：71%面对面（中位数[25%，75%]持续时间为 30 [20, 30]分钟），91%电话（15 [10, 20]分钟），20%视频咨询（20 [10, 28]分钟）。面对面咨询的中位数持续时间明显高于 COVID-19 之前（20 [20, 30]分钟；p = 0.021）。从进行视频咨询的医生来看，92%是过敏科医生，只有 54%认为他们的机构提供了足够的条件。INSPIRERS 组的医生将电话咨询作为面对面咨询的主要替代方式，五分之一的人使用视频咨询。这些结果表明，需要重新思考未来门诊患者的临床随访服务，增加远程医疗的使用，特别是视频咨询。
