Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Neuroscience Institute, Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, USA.
Eur Spine J. 2021 Aug;30(8):2133-2142. doi: 10.1007/s00586-020-06714-y. Epub 2021 Jan 16.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many surgeons to adopt "virtual medicine" practices, defined as telehealth services for patient care and online platforms for continuing medical education. The purpose of this study was to assess spine surgeon reliance on virtual medicine during the pandemic and to discuss the future of virtual medicine in spine surgery.
A comprehensive survey addressing demographic data and virtual medicine practices was distributed to spine surgeons worldwide between March 27, 2020, and April 4, 2020.
902 spine surgeons representing seven global regions responded. 35.6% of surgeons were identified as "high telehealth users," conducting more than half of clinic visits virtually. Predictors of high telehealth utilization included working in an academic practice (OR = 1.68, p = 0.0015) and practicing in Europe/North America (OR 3.42, p < 0.0001). 80.1% of all surgeons were interested in online education. Dedicating more than 25% of one's practice to teaching (OR = 1.89, p = 0.037) predicted increased interest in online education. 26.2% of respondents were identified as "virtual medicine surgeons," defined as surgeons with both high telehealth usage and increased interest in online education. Living in Europe/North America and practicing in an academic practice increased odds of being a virtual medicine surgeon by 2.28 (p = 0.002) and 1.15 (p = 0.0082), respectively. 93.8% of surgeons reported interest in a centralized platform facilitating surgeon-to-surgeon communication.
COVID-19 has changed spine surgery by triggering rapid adoption of virtual medicine practices. The demonstrated global interest in virtual medicine suggests that it may become part of the "new normal" for surgeons in the post-pandemic era.
COVID-19 大流行迫使许多外科医生采用“虚拟医学”实践，即远程医疗服务用于患者护理和在线平台用于继续医学教育。本研究的目的是评估脊柱外科医生在大流行期间对虚拟医学的依赖程度，并讨论虚拟医学在脊柱外科中的未来。
2020 年 3 月 27 日至 2020 年 4 月 4 日，向全球范围内的脊柱外科医生分发了一份全面的调查，内容涉及人口统计学数据和虚拟医学实践。
来自七个全球地区的 902 名脊柱外科医生做出了回应。35.6%的外科医生被确定为“高远程医疗使用者”，他们进行了超过一半的门诊虚拟就诊。高远程医疗利用率的预测因素包括在学术实践中工作（OR=1.68，p=0.0015）和在欧洲/北美地区执业（OR 3.42，p<0.0001）。80.1%的外科医生对在线教育感兴趣。将超过 25%的实践时间用于教学（OR=1.89，p=0.037）预测对在线教育的兴趣增加。26.2%的受访者被确定为“虚拟医学外科医生”，定义为高远程医疗使用率和对在线教育兴趣增加的外科医生。居住在欧洲/北美地区和在学术实践中执业使成为虚拟医学外科医生的几率分别增加了 2.28 倍（p=0.002）和 1.15 倍（p=0.0082）。93.8%的外科医生表示有兴趣使用集中平台促进外科医生之间的交流。
COVID-19 通过快速采用虚拟医学实践改变了脊柱外科。对虚拟医学表现出的全球兴趣表明，它可能成为后大流行时代外科医生“新常态”的一部分。
