{"title":"COVID-19冠状病毒大流行期间三个存储转发网络的转诊活动","authors":"Richard Wootton, Hansel Otero, Meghan Moretti","doi":"10.1155/2021/6644648","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We surveyed three well-established store-and-forward telemedicine networks to identify any changes during the first half of 2020, which might have been due to the effect of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on their telemedicine operations. The three networks all used the Collegium Telemedicus system. Various quantitative performance indicators, which included the numbers of referrals and the case-mix, were compared with their values in previous years. Two of the three networks surveyed (A and B) provided telemedicine services for any type of medical or surgical case, while the third (network C) handled only pediatric radiology cases. All networks operated in Africa, but networks A and C also provided services in other resource-constrained regions. Two of the networks (networks B and C) used local staff to submit referrals, while network A relied mainly on its expatriate staff. During the first half of 2020, the numbers of referrals received on network B increased substantially, while in contrast, the numbers of referrals on network A declined. All three networks had relatively stable referral rates during 2018 and 2019. All three networks delivered a service that was rated highly by the referrers. One network operated at relatively high efficiency compared to the other two, although it is not known if this is sustainable. The networks which were more reliant on local referrers saw little reduction-or even an increase-in submitted cases, while the network that had the most dependence on international staff saw a big fall in submitted cases. This was probably due to the effect of international travel restrictions on the deployment of its staff. We conclude that organizations wanting to build or expand their telemedicine services should consider deliberately empowering local providers as their referrers.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8139331/pdf/","citationCount":"2","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Referral Activity in Three Store-and-Forward Networks during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.\",\"authors\":\"Richard Wootton, Hansel Otero, Meghan Moretti\",\"doi\":\"10.1155/2021/6644648\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>We surveyed three well-established store-and-forward telemedicine networks to identify any changes during the first half of 2020, which might have been due to the effect of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on their telemedicine operations. The three networks all used the Collegium Telemedicus system. Various quantitative performance indicators, which included the numbers of referrals and the case-mix, were compared with their values in previous years. Two of the three networks surveyed (A and B) provided telemedicine services for any type of medical or surgical case, while the third (network C) handled only pediatric radiology cases. All networks operated in Africa, but networks A and C also provided services in other resource-constrained regions. Two of the networks (networks B and C) used local staff to submit referrals, while network A relied mainly on its expatriate staff. During the first half of 2020, the numbers of referrals received on network B increased substantially, while in contrast, the numbers of referrals on network A declined. All three networks had relatively stable referral rates during 2018 and 2019. All three networks delivered a service that was rated highly by the referrers. One network operated at relatively high efficiency compared to the other two, although it is not known if this is sustainable. The networks which were more reliant on local referrers saw little reduction-or even an increase-in submitted cases, while the network that had the most dependence on international staff saw a big fall in submitted cases. This was probably due to the effect of international travel restrictions on the deployment of its staff. We conclude that organizations wanting to build or expand their telemedicine services should consider deliberately empowering local providers as their referrers.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":45630,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2021-05-03\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8139331/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"2\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6644648\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2021/1/1 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"eCollection\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6644648","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2021/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Referral Activity in Three Store-and-Forward Networks during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.
We surveyed three well-established store-and-forward telemedicine networks to identify any changes during the first half of 2020, which might have been due to the effect of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on their telemedicine operations. The three networks all used the Collegium Telemedicus system. Various quantitative performance indicators, which included the numbers of referrals and the case-mix, were compared with their values in previous years. Two of the three networks surveyed (A and B) provided telemedicine services for any type of medical or surgical case, while the third (network C) handled only pediatric radiology cases. All networks operated in Africa, but networks A and C also provided services in other resource-constrained regions. Two of the networks (networks B and C) used local staff to submit referrals, while network A relied mainly on its expatriate staff. During the first half of 2020, the numbers of referrals received on network B increased substantially, while in contrast, the numbers of referrals on network A declined. All three networks had relatively stable referral rates during 2018 and 2019. All three networks delivered a service that was rated highly by the referrers. One network operated at relatively high efficiency compared to the other two, although it is not known if this is sustainable. The networks which were more reliant on local referrers saw little reduction-or even an increase-in submitted cases, while the network that had the most dependence on international staff saw a big fall in submitted cases. This was probably due to the effect of international travel restrictions on the deployment of its staff. We conclude that organizations wanting to build or expand their telemedicine services should consider deliberately empowering local providers as their referrers.
期刊介绍:
The overall aim of the International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications is to bring together science and applications of medical practice and medical care at a distance as well as their supporting technologies such as, computing, communications, and networking technologies with emphasis on telemedicine techniques and telemedicine applications. It is directed at practicing engineers, academic researchers, as well as doctors, nurses, etc. Telemedicine is an information technology that enables doctors to perform medical consultations, diagnoses, and treatments, as well as medical education, away from patients. For example, doctors can remotely examine patients via remote viewing monitors and sound devices, and/or sampling physiological data using telecommunication. Telemedicine technology is applied to areas of emergency healthcare, videoconsulting, telecardiology, telepathology, teledermatology, teleophthalmology, teleoncology, telepsychiatry, teledentistry, etc. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications will highlight the continued growth and new challenges in telemedicine, applications, and their supporting technologies, for both application development and basic research. Papers should emphasize original results or case studies relating to the theory and/or applications of telemedicine. Tutorial papers, especially those emphasizing multidisciplinary views of telemedicine, are also welcome. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications employs a paperless, electronic submission and evaluation system to promote a rapid turnaround in the peer-review process.