Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
Department of General Practice, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2021 Feb;8(2):440-447. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51293. Epub 2020 Dec 30.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid changes in the delivery of medical care worldwide. The main objective of this survey was to investigate the initial experiences of neurologists with the use of telemedicine for different neurological conditions during the first phase of the COVID-19.
All hospital-based neurologists in Norway (n = 400) were invited to a questionnaire survey by e-mail in April 2020. The study focused on telemedicine and all questions were answered with regard to the first weeks of the pandemic lockdown in Norway.
One-hundred and thirty-five neurologists responded. Overall, 87% reported a shift toward more telemedicine, with significantly more use of telephone than video consultations for both new referrals (54% vs. 30%, P < 0.001) and follow-ups (99% vs. 50%, P < 0.001). Respondents deemed it much more professionally satisfactory to conduct follow-up consultations by telephone, than to carry out consultations with new patients by telephone (85% vs. 13%, P < 0.001). Teleconsultations were better suited for headache and epilepsy patients as compared to multiple sclerosis and movement disorder patients. There was no significant difference between residents and senior consultants regarding how they experienced teleconsultations. Female neurologists found telemedicine better and more effective than male neurologists.
Telemedicine was rapidly implemented in Norwegian neurological departments during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teleconsultations were better suited for follow-ups than for new referrals, and better for headache and epilepsy patients as compared to multiple sclerosis and movement disorder patients.
COVID-19 大流行导致全球医疗服务迅速发生变化。本调查的主要目的是调查在 COVID-19 大流行的第一阶段，神经科医生在不同神经科疾病中使用远程医疗的初步经验。
2020 年 4 月，通过电子邮件向挪威所有医院的神经科医生（n=400）发出问卷调查邀请。本研究重点关注远程医疗，所有问题均根据挪威大流行封锁的第一周回答。
135 名神经科医生做出回应。总体而言，87%的医生报告称向更多的远程医疗转变，新转诊（54%比 30%，P<0.001）和随访（99%比 50%，P<0.001）的电话咨询明显多于视频咨询。与通过电话进行新患者咨询相比，受访者认为通过电话进行随访咨询在专业上更令人满意（85%比 13%，P<0.001）。与多发性硬化症和运动障碍患者相比，头痛和癫痫患者更适合远程咨询。住院医师和高级顾问在体验远程咨询方面没有显著差异。女神经科医生认为远程医疗比男神经科医生更好、更有效。
在 COVID-19 大流行的第一周，挪威神经科部门迅速实施了远程医疗。与新转诊相比，远程咨询更适合随访，与多发性硬化症和运动障碍患者相比，头痛和癫痫患者更适合远程咨询。
