Cargando…

Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome

Background: Our study analysed the outpatient activity of the onco-hematology Complex Operative Unit (UOC) of Tor Vergata Hospital, Rome coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) center, where, as a result of the sudden and unexpected emergency, healthcare services were provided through telemedicine proce...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Postorino, Massimiliano, Treglia, Michele, Giammatteo, Jacopo, Pallocci, Margherita, Petroni, Giulia, Quintavalle, Giuseppe, Picchioni, Ombretta, Cantonetti, Maria, Marsella, Luigi Tonino
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7729865/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33261139
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238834
_version_ 1783621555332317184
author Postorino, Massimiliano
Treglia, Michele
Giammatteo, Jacopo
Pallocci, Margherita
Petroni, Giulia
Quintavalle, Giuseppe
Picchioni, Ombretta
Cantonetti, Maria
Marsella, Luigi Tonino
author_facet Postorino, Massimiliano
Treglia, Michele
Giammatteo, Jacopo
Pallocci, Margherita
Petroni, Giulia
Quintavalle, Giuseppe
Picchioni, Ombretta
Cantonetti, Maria
Marsella, Luigi Tonino
author_sort Postorino, Massimiliano
collection PubMed
description Background: Our study analysed the outpatient activity of the onco-hematology Complex Operative Unit (UOC) of Tor Vergata Hospital, Rome coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) center, where, as a result of the sudden and unexpected emergency, healthcare services were provided through telemedicine procedures that can be considered very close to Telehealth. Aim of the study: our retrospective study aimed to assess the widespread use of telemedicine in terms of feasibility and safety related to adverse events, a crucial experience which will make it possible to predict any effective use of such a method in patients with hematological disorders even after the end of the Covid-19 emergency. Materials and methods: At the Day Hospital clinic, from 8 March to 31 May 2020, an outpatient group received 3828 medical teleconsultations and 11,484 additional contacts following the first examination; each patient examined through the telematic method required an average of three supplementary contacts via e-mail or telephone. Results: The follow-up lasted 145 days, and all the events that occurred were monitored. In total, we recorded 16 clinical adverse events, 5 of which classified as major events, and 11 as minor events. Conclusion: The 3828 telematic clinical examinations and the 11,484 additional contacts following the first examination carried out by the onco-haematology UOC of Tor Vergata Hospital, proved how telemedicine, albeit in its basic form, was a key tool in facing the sanitary emergency caused by the sudden spread of Covid-19. An experience that can be considered reliable enough to be replicated in possible post-Covid-19 emergencies. From a medical forensic point of view, the main issues to consider are informed consent, personal data management and professional responsibility profiles.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7729865
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-77298652020-12-12 Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome Postorino, Massimiliano Treglia, Michele Giammatteo, Jacopo Pallocci, Margherita Petroni, Giulia Quintavalle, Giuseppe Picchioni, Ombretta Cantonetti, Maria Marsella, Luigi Tonino Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Background: Our study analysed the outpatient activity of the onco-hematology Complex Operative Unit (UOC) of Tor Vergata Hospital, Rome coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) center, where, as a result of the sudden and unexpected emergency, healthcare services were provided through telemedicine procedures that can be considered very close to Telehealth. Aim of the study: our retrospective study aimed to assess the widespread use of telemedicine in terms of feasibility and safety related to adverse events, a crucial experience which will make it possible to predict any effective use of such a method in patients with hematological disorders even after the end of the Covid-19 emergency. Materials and methods: At the Day Hospital clinic, from 8 March to 31 May 2020, an outpatient group received 3828 medical teleconsultations and 11,484 additional contacts following the first examination; each patient examined through the telematic method required an average of three supplementary contacts via e-mail or telephone. Results: The follow-up lasted 145 days, and all the events that occurred were monitored. In total, we recorded 16 clinical adverse events, 5 of which classified as major events, and 11 as minor events. Conclusion: The 3828 telematic clinical examinations and the 11,484 additional contacts following the first examination carried out by the onco-haematology UOC of Tor Vergata Hospital, proved how telemedicine, albeit in its basic form, was a key tool in facing the sanitary emergency caused by the sudden spread of Covid-19. An experience that can be considered reliable enough to be replicated in possible post-Covid-19 emergencies. From a medical forensic point of view, the main issues to consider are informed consent, personal data management and professional responsibility profiles. MDPI 2020-11-27 2020-12 /pmc/articles/PMC7729865/ /pubmed/33261139 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238834 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Postorino, Massimiliano
Treglia, Michele
Giammatteo, Jacopo
Pallocci, Margherita
Petroni, Giulia
Quintavalle, Giuseppe
Picchioni, Ombretta
Cantonetti, Maria
Marsella, Luigi Tonino
Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title_full Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title_fullStr Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title_full_unstemmed Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title_short Telemedicine as a Medical Examination Tool During the Covid-19 Emergency: The Experience of the Onco-Haematology Center of Tor Vergata Hospital in Rome
title_sort telemedicine as a medical examination tool during the covid-19 emergency: the experience of the onco-haematology center of tor vergata hospital in rome
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7729865/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33261139
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238834
work_keys_str_mv AT postorinomassimiliano telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT tregliamichele telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT giammatteojacopo telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT palloccimargherita telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT petronigiulia telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT quintavallegiuseppe telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT picchioniombretta telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT cantonettimaria telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome
AT marsellaluigitonino telemedicineasamedicalexaminationtoolduringthecovid19emergencytheexperienceoftheoncohaematologycenteroftorvergatahospitalinrome