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Arafa M, El Ansari W, Qasem F, Al Ansari A, Al Dosari MAA, Mukhtar K, Alhabash MA, Awad K, Al Rumaihi K. Reinventing Patient Support and Continuity of Care Using Innovative Physician-staffed Hotline: More than 60,000 Patients Served Across 15 Medical and Surgical Specialties During the First Wave of COVID-19 Lockdown in Qatar. J Med Syst 2023; 47:77. [PMID: 37466754 PMCID: PMC10356882 DOI: 10.1007/s10916-023-01973-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Rising disease prevalence early during the COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Qatar led to stoppage of all non-emergency health care services. To maintain continuity of care and information exchanges for non-emergency patients, a physician-operated telephone hotline was set up that involved triage followed by immediate consultation with a specialized physician. We describe the initiation and evaluate the operations of the Urgent Consultation Centre (UCC) hotline manned by 150 physicians and aimed at urgent non-life-threatening consultations at Hamad Medical Corporation, the public health provider in Qatar. UCC established a hotline to triage inbound patient calls related to 15 medical and surgical specialties. For calls between April-August 2020, we describe call volume, distribution by specialty, outcomes, performance of UCC team, as well as demographics of callers. During the study period, UCC received 60229 calls (average 394 calls/day) from Qatari nationals (38%) and expatriates (62%). Maximum total daily calls peaked at 1670 calls on June 14, 2020. Call volumes were the highest from 9 AM to 2 PM. Response rate varied from 89% to 100%. After an initial telephone triage, calls were most often related to and thus directed to internal medicine (24.61%) and geriatrics (11.97%), while the least percentage of calls were for pain management and oncology/hematology (around 2% for each). By outcome of consultation, repeat prescriptions were provided for 60% of calls, new prescriptions (15%), while referrals were to outpatient department (17%), emergency department/pediatric emergency center (5%), and primary health care centres (3%). We conclude that during a pandemic, physician-staffed telephone hotline is feasible and can be employed in innovative ways to conserve medical resources, maintain continuity of care, and serve patients requiring urgent care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Arafa
- Urology Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Andrology Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
- Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | - Walid El Ansari
- Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
- Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
- College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Fadi Qasem
- Urology Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Abdulla Al Ansari
- Urology Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Doha, Qatar
- Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Khalid Mukhtar
- Department of Orthopedics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Khalid Awad
- Urology Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khalid Al Rumaihi
- Urology Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Doha, Qatar
- College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
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How COVID-19 Broke the Barriers Related to the Implementation of Telecare-Patients' Experiences with a New form of Providing Health Services in Primary Health Care. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11040497. [PMID: 36833033 PMCID: PMC9956090 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11040497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to accelerating the development of telemedicine and eHealth. The main aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of patients towards remote care implemented in general practice (GP) during the pandemic. METHODS The study was a pilot study conducted in March-April 2021, considering technical aspects of using teleconsultations, and evaluating the difficulties, advantages and disadvantages for patients. When assessing opinions, a simple Likert scale was used, where a value of 1 meant the worst possible assessment or strong disagreement and the upper value the best or full agreement of the respondent. RESULTS The study covered 408 respondents. Their biggest organizational challenge reaching GPs by telephone, regardless of the patients' home location (p = 0.23698). Obtaining e-documents was not problematic but was rated as worse by men (p = 0.048295). Respondents rated the overall effectiveness of teleconsultations more highly if they could speak directly with a doctor (p = 0.0005). There were no differences in willingness to recommend teleconsultations based on gender (p = 0.2432), place of residence (p = 0.7878), age (p = 0.290355) or education (p = 0.9109), but people assessing the overall effectiveness of telemedicine more highly were more willing to recommend it (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS Respondents assess teleconsultations in a differentiated way, noticing both positive and negative features of the remote form of providing health services.
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Mularczyk-Tomczewska P, Żarnowski A, Gujski M, Sytnik-Czetwertyński J, Pańkowski I, Smoliński R, Jankowski M. Preventive Health Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey among 102,928 Internet Users in Poland. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11123423. [PMID: 35743493 PMCID: PMC9224829 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11123423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Preventive screening is a highly cost-effective public health intervention. The COVID-19 pandemic may impact preventive healthcare services. This study aimed to assess the frequency of preventive health screening, as well as to identify the factors associated with compliance with health screening guidelines among adults in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional survey was carried out between October and December 2021, among Internet users in Poland. Respondents were asked about the last date that they performed seven different screening tests. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 102,928 adults aged 18−99 years, and 57.2% were female. The most common screening tests performed in the past 12 months were blood pressure measurement (83%), blood count (66.2%), and blood sugar (63.3%). Moreover, more than half of respondents had a urinalysis (53.1%) and lipid panel (55.1%) in the past 12 months. Out of 58,904 females, 69.2% had a cervical cytology in the past 3 years. Older age, having higher education, living in urban areas, being occupationally active, having at least one chronic disease, and visiting a doctor in the past 12 months were significantly associated (p < 0.001) with a higher level of compliance with screening guidelines. This study revealed a significant gap in the performance of preventive health screening.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam Żarnowski
- Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.-T.); (A.Ż.)
| | - Mariusz Gujski
- Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; (P.M.-T.); (A.Ż.)
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Igor Pańkowski
- Emergency Department, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Warsaw, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Rafał Smoliński
- Niepubliczny Zespół Zakładów Opieki Zdrowotnej Wigor, 05-120 Legionowo, Poland;
| | - Mateusz Jankowski
- School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland; (J.S.-C.); (M.J.)
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