The Impact of International Classification of Disease-Triggered Prescription Support on Telemedicine: Observational Analysis of Efficiency and Guideline Adherence.

Background: Integrating decision support systems into telemedicine may optimize consultation efficiency and adherence to clinical guidelines; however, the extent of such effects remains underexplored.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the use of ICD (International Classification of Disease)-coded prescription decision support systems (PDSSs) and the effects of these systems on consultation duration and guideline adherence during telemedicine encounters.

Methods: In this retrospective, single-center, observational study conducted from October 2021 to March 2022, adult patients who sought urgent digital care via direct-to-consumer video consultations were included.

The rise of Telecardiology in developing countries.

Telecardiology, the remote diagnosis and treatment of cardiac conditions, is experiencing a significant increase in developing nations. This article explores the driving forces behind this trend and its implications. Limited access to healthcare facilities, especially in rural, isolated, and underdeveloped regions, has propelled the adoption of telecardiology as a cost-effective solution to bridge the gap in cardiac care provision.

Guideline-Based Telemedicine Assessment of Orthopedic Low-Risk Conditions by General Practitioners is Not Inferior to that of Face-to-Face Consultations with Specialists in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Trial.

There is a lack of randomized controlled trials focusing on orthopedic telemedicine (TM). The objective of this research was to compare the diagnostic accuracy and pattern of TM consultations of low-risk orthopedic patients performed by general practitioners (GPs) with those of face-to-face evaluations by orthopedists at an emergency department (ED). This randomized, single-center study was conducted between October 2021 and November 2022 on patients at an ED.

Multidrug stewardship and adherence to guidelines in >200,000 direct-to-consumer Telemedicine encounters.

Objective: The quality of care and safety for Telemedicine-discharged patients with suspected respiratory infections are closely related to low rates of prescriptions of unjustified and high-risk medications. This retrospective study aimed to assess adherence to the current COVID-19 guidelines in direct-to-consumer telemedicine encounters at a large center using multidrug stewardship protocols.

Methods: A quarterly electronic survey utilizing medical records of individual physician care assessed various quality indicators.

Is it possible to estimate the number of patients with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units and general wards using clinical and telemedicine data?

Background: Gabaldi et al. utilized telemedicine data, web search trends, hospitalized patient characteristics, and resource usage data to estimate bed occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showcase the potential of data-driven strategies to enhance resource allocation decisions for an effective pandemic response.

Telemedicine and patients with heart failure: evidence and unresolved issues.

Heart failure is the leading cause of cardiac-related hospitalizations. Limited access to reevaluations and outpatient appointments restricts the application of modern therapies. Telemedicine has become an essential resource in the healthcare system because of its countless benefits, such as higher and more frequent appointments and faster titration of medications.

Adherence to Emergency Department Referral Criteria in a Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine Center.

This is a

Brazilian Medical Survey on Telemedicine since the onset of COVID-19.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to understand the difference in the use of Telemedicine by Brazilian physicians before and after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic and their intention to continue using it post the pandemic period. The secondary objective was to analyze the differences of opinion between physicians in the private and public sectors.

Methods: We conducted an online medical survey through the SurveyMonkey platform in a large hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, from May to July 2022.

Clinical Features and Management of Patients Assessed by Cardiology Teleconsultation in the Brazilian Region with the Highest Number of Isolated Cities.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of adult mortality. Geographically remote and low-income Brazilian regions lack specialized consultations. The telemedicine management of this population by cardiologists is not fully known.

Mobile application-based oximetry: a potential toolfor appropriate referral of patients with respiratory symptoms examined via telemedicine.

Objective: To calculate the positive likelihood ratio to determine whether telemedicine is able to optimize referral to the emergency department.

Methods: Unicenter study with 182 consecutive patients admitted to Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein due to respiratory symptoms. All patients were submitted to oxygen saturation measurement using the standard method Welch Allyn finger device vital sign monitor and a 2-minute evaluation (Binah.

Telemedicine can be a feasible means of guiding untrained general practitioners to perform point-of-care ultrasound in life-threatening situations: the case of a field hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of telemedicine using a standardized multiorgan ultrasound assessment protocol to guide untrained on-site general practitioners at a field hospital during a life-threatening crisis.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated 11 inpatients with shock, with or without acute dyspnea, for whom general practitioners spontaneously requested remote evaluation by a specialist.

Results: All of the general practitioners accepted the protocol and were able to position the transducer correctly, thus obtaining key images of the internal jugular vein, lungs, and inferior vena cava when guided remotely by a telemedicine physician, who interpreted all of the findings.

Telemedicine diagnosis of acute respiratory tract infection patients is not inferior to face-to-face consultation: a randomized trial.

Objective: To analyze telemedicine diagnostic accuracy in patients with respiratory infections during COVID-19 pandemic compared to face-to-face evaluation in the emergency department.

Methods: Randomized, unicentric study between September 2020 and November 2020 in patients with any respiratory symptom (exclusion criteria: age >65 years, chronic heart or lung diseases, immunosuppressed). Patients were randomized 1:1 for brief telemedicine followed by face-to-face consultation or direct face-to-face evaluation.

Telemedicine medical evaluation of low-risk patients with dengue during an outbreak may be an option in reducing the need for on-site physicians.

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of telemedicine consultations during an outbreak in reducing the need for face-to-face consultations at a field hospital for patients with dengue.

Methods: We performed a retrospective unicentric study between April and May 2015 with 4626 patients (≥15 years old) who spontaneously sought care at an emergency field hospital (Sāo Paulo/Brazil). A nurse initially assessed all patients with dengue through rapid diagnostic testing, automated complete blood count, and risk stratification.

Cross-sectional study of the ambulance transport between healthcare facilities with medical support via telemedicine: Easy, effective, and safe tool.

Background: Feasibility and safety of ambulance transport between healthcare facilities with medical support exclusively via telemedicine are unknown.

Methods: This was a retrospective study with a single telemedicine center reference for satellite emergency departments of the same hospital. The study population was all critically ill patients admitted to one of the peripheral units from November 2016 to May 2020 and who needed to be transferred to the main building.

Antibiotic stewardship in direct-to-consumer telemedicine consultations leads to high adherence to best practice guidelines and a low prescription rate.

Objective: To analyze the antibiotic prescription rate in low-risk patients evaluated at a telemedicine program that adopts antibiotic stewardship protocols.

Methods: Adult patients who accessed a single direct-to-consumer telemedicine center (Jan/2019-Feb/2020) were retrospectively enrolled. Diseases amenable to antimicrobial treatment were classified under five diagnostic groups: upper respiratory tract infection (URI), acute pharyngotonsillitis (PT), acute sinusitis (AS), urinary tract infection (UTI), and acute diarrhea (AD).

Assessment of patients with acute respiratory symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic by Telemedicine: clinical features and impact on referral.

Objective: To characterize variables associated with referral to the emergency department following Telemedicine consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective study conducted between March and May 2020, with a sample of 500 adult patients. The inclusion criterion was the manifestation of respiratory symptoms, regardless of type.

Telemedicine: Is It a Tool for Orthopedics?

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how telemedicine can be beneficial in many areas of orthopedic clinical practice through a literature narrative review. In addition, we discuss advantages, barriers, and enablers of such technology.

Recent Findings: Telemedicine in orthopedics was initially described to discuss simple cases among non-specialist doctors through videoconferencing.

Advanced units: quality measures in urgency and emergency care.

Objective: To evaluate, through care indicators, the quality of services rendered to patients considered urgency and emergency cases at an advanced emergency care unit.

Methods: We analyzed data from managerial reports of 64,891 medical visits performed in the Emergency Care Unit of the Ibirapuera Unit at Care during the period from June 1st, 2012 through May 31st, 2013. The proposed indicators for the assessment of care were rate of death in the emergency care unit; average length of stay of patients in the unit; rate of unplanned return visits; admission rate for patients screened as level 1 according to the Emergency Severity Index; rate of non-finalized medical consultations; rate of complaints; and door-to-electrocardiogram time.