Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
World Neurosurg. 2021 Jun;150:e645-e656. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.03.070. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
Global use of telemedicine has increased rapidly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to bridge the gap in existing health care services. Intercontinental trends in neurosurgeons' perception and practices of telemedicine have been sparingly reported.
We conducted an online anonymized and validated survey using a structured questionnaire to gain insight into neurosurgeons' experience with telemedicine across various continents and rated its usefulness on a 5-point Likert scale.
We received 286 responses across 5 continents. There was a trend to support a major paradigm shift favoring teleconsultations during the COVID-19 pandemic in respondents from North America (P = 0.06). Signed prescriptions were e-mailed along with video-based teleconsultations preferentially in Europe and North America. In comparison, audio- or text-based teleconsultations along with unsigned prescriptions were prevalent in Asia and Africa (P = 0.0005). Acceptability and perceived usefulness for telemedicine during the pandemic were similar across the globe, regardless of neurosurgeons' experience (mean satisfaction score 3.72 ± 1.09; P = 0.62). A majority of neurosurgeons from Asia and South America complained of difficulties during teleconsultations owing to lack of appropriate infrastructure, internet connectivity/prescription-related issues, and potential risk of litigation (P = 0.0005). Approximately 46% of neurosurgeons, predominantly from Europe and North America, thought that telemedicine could play a vital role in clinical practice even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides (mean satisfaction score 3.26 ± 1.16; P = 0.007).
Telemedicine in neurosurgery is a viable alternative to physical outpatient services during the COVID-19 pandemic and could potentially play a vital role after the pandemic.
在 2019 冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间，全球迅速采用远程医疗来弥补现有医疗服务的差距。关于神经外科医生对远程医疗的看法和实践的洲际趋势鲜有报道。
我们使用经过验证的匿名在线问卷对神经外科医生进行调查，以了解他们在各大洲使用远程医疗的经验，并对其有用性进行 5 分制 Likert 评分。
我们收到了来自 5 大洲的 286 份回复。来自北美的受访者倾向于支持在 COVID-19 大流行期间进行重大范式转变，支持远程会诊（P=0.06）。在欧洲和北美，电子签名处方随视频远程会诊一起发送。相比之下，在亚洲和非洲，音频或文本远程会诊和非签名处方更为常见（P=0.0005）。在全球范围内，无论神经外科医生的经验如何，他们对大流行期间远程医疗的接受程度和感知有用性相似（满意度平均得分为 3.72±1.09；P=0.62）。来自亚洲和南美洲的大多数神经外科医生抱怨由于缺乏适当的基础设施、互联网连接/处方相关问题以及潜在的诉讼风险，在远程会诊期间遇到困难（P=0.0005）。约 46%的神经外科医生，主要来自欧洲和北美，认为即使在 COVID-19 大流行消退后，远程医疗也可以在临床实践中发挥重要作用（满意度平均得分为 3.26±1.16；P=0.007）。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，远程医疗是实体门诊服务的可行替代方案，在大流行后可能会发挥重要作用。
